Virgil van Dijk. Photo: Collected

LIVERPOOL, Nov 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Virgil van Dijk said Liverpool's players 
are letting manager Arne Slot down after the Premier League champions' 
collapse continued with a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool have lost six of their last seven league games to slide into the 
bottom half of the table, putting Slot under pressure after the club's record 
spend of nearly œ450 million ($590 million) in the transfer market.

"We are definitely letting him (Slot) down but we've let ourselves down as 
well," said Van Dijk.

"You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other 
get out of this mess because at the moment it is a mess - that's just a fact.

"As the champions we can't be in the situation we are in right now. What are 
we going to do about it? We're going to try to turn it around and that's the 
mentality everyone should have."

None of Liverpool's big money summer signings have yet to make a positive 
impact.

Alexander Isak, who cost a British transfer record œ125 million, is still to 
score a league goal for the Reds and looked a shadow of the player he was at 
Newcastle during an ineffectual 68 minutes against Forest.

But many of last season's title winners have also suffered a slump in form 
with Van Dijk's centre-back partner Ibrahima Konate also replaced early by 
Slot after another poor performance.

"What I want is for everyone to take responsibility on the pitch. We have to 
do that in order to push each other, to make each other better," added Van 
Dijk.

"We have been through it together and won the league and everyone was part of 
it and happy and when you go through a tough time you have to stick together 
and not point fingers.

"You have to be a man and face the toughness and go again, again and again 
because if you want to give up then you are at the wrong place in my eyes 
because this club has gone through much adversity over those years and we've 
always come out of it."

Liverpool's form in the Champions League has been much better with three wins 
from four games.

The return to European competition could offer some relief for Slot's men 
when PSV Eindhoven visit Anfield in Liverpool's next outing on Wednesday.