‎FA Cup: Van Dijk apologises for Liverpool’s thrashing by Man City ‎ ‎ ‎

‎Virgil Van Dijk apologised to Liverpool fans after admitting his side gave up during their FA Cup quarterfinal defeat against Manchester City.
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‎Arne Slot’s team slumped to a dismal 4-0 loss at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, leaving Van Dijk furious with their second-half display.
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‎Already trailing 2-0 at halftime after Erling Haaland’s brace, Liverpool conceded again immediately following the restart as Antoine Semenyo netted before Haaland completed his hat-trick.
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‎Liverpool’s limp surrender sparked a mass exodus of their 8 000 fans well before the final whistle.
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‎Van Dijk acknowledged he was culpable after conceding a penalty that Haaland converted in the first half and the Reds captain said his teammates must also accept the blame.
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‎”I can only apologise to the fans for what we have shown, especially the second half,” he said.
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‎”Obviously you come out with the right intentions from the dressing room, to hopefully score for 2-1 as soon as possible to change the game.
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‎”The opposite happens and to come back from 3-0 is obviously very difficult here – but also you shouldn’t give up and that’s maybe, at a certain point, what happened.
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‎”We let our fans down, we let ourselves down, and the manager. The way we played in the second half, especially, must hurt for everyone. It definitely hurts me.”
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‎The dismal result intensified the pressure on Slot ahead of a daunting Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Paris Saint-Germain in France on Wednesday.
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‎With their hopes of domestic silverware dashed by City, Liverpool have to focus on winning the Champions League and qualifying for next season’s tournament.
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‎Urging his squad to stay united as the pressure mounts, Van Dijk said: “It’s a together thing, isn’t it? Obviously he’s responsible as the manager but we are the ones on the pitch that have to do it.
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‎”The matter of fact is now, PSG are waiting for us. I watched them Friday a little bit. It will be so tough again. So we have to be ready mentally as soon as possible.
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‎”I’ve been lucky enough to play for Liverpool for so many years. The main thing we always had was togetherness. Now obviously we are in a little bit of a transition but we have to find it.”
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