Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists he is not worried about skipper Virgil van Dijk’s form after the centre-back’s display in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at Fulham.
After the Netherlands international was given a stern test by Everton striker Beto in last week’s Merseyside derby, Van Dijk was punished for poor defending at Craven Cottage.
Van Dijk was caught flat-footed by Rodrigo Muniz who beat him to a loose ball and finished superbly to put Fulham 3-1 ahead in the 37th minute.
“I mainly give credit to other players as well,” Slot said.
“If you look at Beto, Virgil wasn’t the first defender to find it hard to play against him as he chases for every ball, pushes you just before you get the ball.
“The one who played there today, you have to give a lot of credit to him as well.
“I still see a lot of things that Virgil does really well. If you play 50 to 60 games a season, even for Virgil, there will be one or two moments where he could have done better. I don’t worry about Virgil.”
Liverpool saw their 26-match Premier League unbeaten run ended in the capital.
Alexis Mac Allister’s stunner had put them ahead but Fulham roared back through goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Muniz.
Luis Diaz came off the bench to give the Reds hope but it was not enough to avoid a second league defeat of the season.
Liverpool still have an 11-point lead at the top of the table with games against West Ham and Leicester to come.
“I think there is no reason for us to be complacent,” Slot added.
“We are not number one at the moment because we win every game with a margin of three or four goals.
“I think everyone that has seen our games knows that it takes us so much effort, so much hard work to win games of football, combined with quality of course.
“The team that won the league in the last four seasons were already 3-0 up at half-time almost every single game they played. That is not the way for us.”
Victory for Fulham saw them move four points off fifth as they look to qualify for Europe.
“We have to work very hard, the Premier League is very hard,” manager Marco Silva said.
“We have to always be on, always take care of ourselves, and the last two months of the season we have to push really hard.
“The next one, we have to be well prepared for Bournemouth as it will be a tough game.”
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