Liverpool did not have the best of days against Man United recently. The team that they always want to beat the most caused them heartbreak late into the match, and that is an accountability that the Liverpool players must now live with.
However, the good news (if you can call it that) is that this result should be what spurs Liverpool on to do better. The cracks were already there, as they have started the season woefully by their own standards, but a humiliation at the hands of their most bitter rivals should flick the switch for Arne Slot now.
And it appears to have done exactly that. Liverpool not only passed their Champions League test against Frankfurt, but they passed it with flying colors.
Virgil van Dijk scored the goal to put Liverpool ahead for the first time against Frankfurt, but he was also standing on the shoulders of giants. Five different Liverpool players scored to cap off an impressive 5-1 win away from home in Europe.
Virgil van Dijk reveals Liverpool players had a post Man United debrief
Speaking after the match, Virgil van Dijk addressed the Man United game, and said what every Liverpool fan wanted to hear all long: that it was being used as motivation, and the players didn't simply gloss over it as a bad day at the office.
In his own words, Virgil van Dijk said: “After the Man United game, we had a proper debrief with the manager, but we also had a separate one as players. I wanted to say some things. We had to stay calm and block out all the noise from the outside because that's something you can't control”.
This is exactly the mentality that Liverpool fans would expect from the Premier League champions. Virgil van Dijk has been in the dressing room of some great teams, and played his fair share of derby days (not just at Liverpool, he's also been involved in the infamous Glasgow derby in the past, too).
Van Dijk, while it might be hard to do so, knows the importance of keeping a level head in situations like that. Regardless, what needed to be said, we are sure was said.
This gives Liverpool fans an invaluable look behind the curtain. These players are human beings with emotions. As much as it is devastating to lose a derby as a fan, imagine what it must be like for players.
Anyway, all is well that ends well. It's good that the Liverpool players maintained a constructive level of discourse between them.