Last month, Liverpool won the EFL Cup after overcoming Chelsea in the final, and Virgil van Dijk scored the winner in extra time.
After the tie, Liverpool posted a short video on X, formerly Twitter, in which the centre-back said “They thought I was finished” while celebrating inside the dressing room.
Fast forward to March and when speaking to Voetbal International, relayed by FC Update, the Reds star has opened up about his emotional outburst at Wembley.
The Netherlands international suffered a serious knee injury in October 2020, forcing him to spend the rest of that season on the sidelines. His performances were mixed until the end of last season and he was subject to criticism.
“I was talking about it with someone the other week; I shouldn’t have done that. Because now it comes across as if that negative period hit me really hard,” he said.
“Of course, it probably did, in moments, but my point was that a lot of people don’t realise how complex an anterior cruciate ligament and inner ligament injury is. And that you don’t just get back to the level you had before.
“That’s where the emotion came from. I am then annoyed by the unnecessary noise I create myself. On the contrary, I don’t like noise around me at all, I prefer people talking about the match.
“You can call it human what I did, I think it was clumsy of me. It distracts from what we are working on and what I want: having a top season with the club and playing the best year of my life.”
Last weekend, Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United. The Reds are now in contention to win the Premier League and the Europa League this season.
Van Dijk has four goals and two assists from 36 games for Liverpool this season.
