Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk could not hide his frustration after a disappointing 1-1 Premier League draw with Burnley on Saturday afternoon
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match against Burnley at Anfield on January 17 2026(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Virgil van Dijk was not messing about. The remaining stragglers were still trudging away from Anfield when, barely 10 minutes after the final whistle on another afternoon of frustration that prompted a smattering of boos from the home support, the Liverpool captain was already showered and dressed and ready to field questions from the gathered media.
And that immediate reaction from the fanbase to a disappointing 1-1 Premier League draw against struggling Burnley was foremost in his mind.
“I don’t like boos from my own fans,” responded Van Dijk when asked if the audible jeering had hurt.
But are Liverpool now testing the patience of the Anfield crowd after a third home draw in five, all of which were avoidable?
“What can I say?” said the Reds skipper. “We have to keep going.”
Having been held to similar stalemates by Sunderland and Leeds United in the previous six weeks, it is the first time since 1980/81 that Liverpool have failed to beat any of the three promoted teams at home. The Reds went on to win the European Cup that season, although a repeat was far from the minds of all involved at the weekend.
“1980? Wow,” said Van Dijk when told of the unwanted statistic. “That’s the reality and we need support, that’s the only thing I can say.”
Liverpool dominated the match with 32 shots at goal and 11 on target. They missed a penalty through Dominik Szoboszlai before Florian Wirtz’s opener only for a brief drop in intensity midway through the second half allowed Marcus Edwards to equalise with Burnley’s only shot on target.
While the Reds are now 12 games unbeaten in all competitions, six of those have been draws with the last four coming in the Premier League.
And van Dijk’s early exit from the dressing room didn’t pass unnoticed, with his thoughts already turning to Wednesday’s Champions League clash at Marseille.
“I’m frustrated,” he said. “I’m frustrated that after 60 minutes we started to become sloppy and it’s not the first time. We have to address that.
“It’s been spoken about already but we have to address it again apparently and Monday will be a big one for it because Wednesday will be a very difficult game over there, not only because of the atmosphere but it’s against a (Roberto) De Zerbi team who make it very difficult for you.
“We worked very hard on creating chances and created loads of chances but unfortunately we couldn’t win it. We keep going. If I had a solution we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We have another 48 hours to assess it, ourselves and the staff, and we will debrief and then we have to act.
“We created loads of chances and that’s a good sign, especially if you look at the last few games we drew. There was a lot of possession and many chances created. But we drew and that’s the frustrating thing.
“Have we lost our aura as Premier League champions? It could have been three or four one. I won’t say that’s a problem, I’d say there is something lacking at the moment and we want to change that.”
Liverpool suffered a transfer setback on Friday when long-time centre-back target Marc Guehi agreed to join rivals Manchester City. With defenders Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni out for the season, there have been calls for the Reds to strengthen their rearguard during this month’s transfer window.
And Van Dijk said: “Obviously it is a big blow Conor is out. Our right-backs is one guy less.
“Whatever the club does it’s with an idea behind it, as you all know, and not a quick-fix. Let’s see what the transfer window brings, I’ve no idea what is going on behind the scenes.”
Liverpool are at least expected to be bolstered this week by the return of Mohamed Salah with the winger’s Africa Cup of Nations duties now over after Egypt lost to Nigeria in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
“Everyone should look forward to that,” he said. “Let’s see when he is back and hopefully he can help us. Obviously with his quality he can win games and have good results.
“Mo is a very important member of our squad on and off the pitch and we are happy when he is back. Unfortunately he couldn’t get to the final of the AFCON but when he is back he needs to help us.”
Victory in Marseille would seal progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League and put Liverpool in a good position to qualify directly to the last 16 ahead of their final opening stage match at home to Qarabag the following week.
“What I do expect is a very difficult game over there, for multiple reasons,” said Van Dijk. “We want to make sure we avoid the play-offs and we have a good chance to make that happen but we have to be more than 95 minutes ready again on the biggest stage in a hostile atmosphere. That’s something we have to prepare for.
“You play games to win games, especially at home with all the respect to Burnley. We can’t stay disappointed, we have to turn this around and the next opportunity is in three or four days.”
