Virgil van Dijk doesn’t believe there’s cause for panic in the Liverpool camp after their first loss of the 2025–26 campaign, but isn’t letting the result go unchecked after a 2–1 defeat to Crystal Palace which “all started” with his own side’s sloppiness.
Liverpool found themselves trailing to Crystal Palace inside 10 minutes as Ismaïla Sarr pounced on a loose ball in the box from a corner kick. As the Reds have done for most of the season, they found a way back into the game late through substitute Federico Chiesa. Just when it seemed like Arne Slot would escape with a point, Eddie Nketiah scored a dramatic winner in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.
“I’m disappointed in the loss, but especially the way we went about it. I don’t think there is any need to worry, but we have to improve quickly. It was the basics that we didn’t do very well. Hopefully this is the only day this season we do that,” Van Dijk said after the Selhurst Park setback.
“They are very difficult to break down. Very disciplined, they defend deep and they don’t mind that. They have the quality on the break to hurt you. But it all started with ourselves. We were sloppy, and we were lucky we have the best goalkeeper in the world to save us,” the Liverpool captain added.
“If we got a draw, then it would have been one point too many for us.”
Liverpool had a knack so far this campaign of finding late winners. In their first five games of the season, four goals came after the 90-minute mark as the term “Slottage time” began to permeate. The trend continued in cup competitions as well with Van Dijk himself rescuing three points late against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League and Hugo Ekitiké snatching victory in the Carabao Cup.
It’s fair to say Liverpool haven’t settled in completely yet with a wave of new signings, but they also found themselves in a similar situation last season en route to the title. Nottingham Forest shocked Liverpool at Anfield to hand Slot an early loss in his recently minted tenure, but they would still go on to win the league by a 10-point margin. The Dutch manager also is primed to become the fastest Liverpool boss to reach 100 points.
Liverpool are in action twice more before the October international break, traveling to face Galatasaray in the Champions League and to Stamford Bridge for a showdown with Chelsea.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘It All Started’—Virgil van Dijk Fires Liverpool Warning After Crystal Palace Setback.
