UCL: Virgil van Dijk sends message to critics after Ajax win

Following Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Ajax, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk claims the team pays little attention to criticism of their performance.

Joel Matip’s late winner gave the Reds their first European points of the year on a night when it appeared that they wouldn’t score again after Mohamed Salah gave them the lead.

Last week’s 4-1 loss to Napoli by Liverpool drew harsh criticism, and Van Dijk himself has been singled out for some subpar defending after years of excellence.

Van Dijk acknowledged the poor performance last week, but he continued to criticise the pundits and stated that his team would keep trying to get better.

The Dutchman responded to the question about how Liverpool’s players were handling the recent rumours: “Not listening to the outside world, that’s the most important thing.

“It’s funny sometimes because a lot of ex-football players know exactly what we are going through.

“They say a lot of things to try and get to us. We know last week was unacceptable and we try to make it right.

“This is a step in the right direction, don’t get carried away because there are so many games but it’s time to focus on the international break then crack on when we return.”