Van Dijk reveals what went down in secret players-only meeting, as captain badly exposes pundit's ignorant claim

Virgil van Dijk led a players-only meeting on Monday and Liverpool’s 5-1 thumping of Eintracht Frankfurt two days later suggests the message hit home, while a pundit’s bizarre claim has already been exposed.

Liverpool ended their four-match losing streak in emphatic style on Wednesday when dismantling Frankfurt in the Champions League. In truth, Liverpool created just as many chances against Frankfurt as they did against Manchester United a few days prior. The difference in Germany was their clinical nature when those chances came, along with the defence standing tall.

During the losing run, speculation – all of which had no basis in fact – begun to swirl over Arne Slot’s future at Liverpool.

There were even wild suggestions a rumoured ’emergency meeting’ on Monday could cover whether Slot should be sacked as manager of Liverpool.

But while a meeting did take place, it was a players-only affair and of course, Slot’s position as Reds boss was NOT among the topics discussed.

Instead, Liverpool captain, Virgil van Dijk, revealed he led the meeting and delivered a series of home truths to his fellow players.

“On Monday, everyone was sad because we lost to United at home. We haven’t lost many games at home during my time at Liverpool,” Van Dijk said after the win in Germany.

“It was tough under the circumstances so on Monday we came together, but it wasn’t a crisis meeting. We all know how things can change. We’re only in October.

“Obviously, we also had a proper debrief with the manager but we also had a separate one as players. I wanted to say some things. It’s not something I do after every game. Let’s keep it that way.”

Van Dijk added: “Nobody wants to lose four games in a row but it was the situation we faced. We had to stay calm and block out all the noise from the outside because that’s something you can’t control.

“The only way to get out of a situation like that is to stay together, keep your mind on the task ahead, try to improve, keep the confidence, embrace the moment. They are all things that are easier to say than actually do. But if you want to get out of it, you have to do it.

“We live in a world now where there is always noise, always something to be said, always someone who knows better. We have to stay focused on ourselves.

“Before my meeting, yes (the mood was low) but after my meeting, everyone was happy!”

The improved spirits were raised even higher when Liverpool got back to winning ways against Frankfurt.

Van Basten’s ridiculous take on Van Dijk exposed

During the recent international break, Dutch legend, Marco van Basten, bizarrely claimed Van Dijk is NOT a leader.

Speaking after the Netherlands’ two World Cup qualifying wins over Malta and Finland – in which two clean sheets were kept and Van Dijk scored against the latter – Van Basten curiously said: “I think Van Dijk should be the leader.

“He should lead by example and be the driving force. I miss that in him. I find his mentality easy to handle.”

Van Basten added: “He’s a fantastic player, perhaps the best defender we have in the world. He can head the ball, he’s quick, he’s tall, and he has a good overview.

“He’s just not the leader who drives the team forward. That would be very beneficial for the team. I hope Arne Slot can teach him that.”

Anyone with eyes and ears knows Van Basten’s claim is nonsense, but Van Dijk – who captains both Liverpool and the Netherlands – proved his leadership capabilities once again by calling and leading the players-only meeting on Monday.

In any case, Van Basten and Van Dijk have previous beef, with the former striker making a series of baffling claims about the defender back in 2023.

“He makes noise, but he doesn’t say anything. He is not clear,” said Van Basten after the Netherlands had just lost 4-0 to France in a Euro 2024 qualifier.

“A good captain thinks aloud, makes it clear what is going on. He stays in between. He creates chaos. That leads to misunderstandings. That is what you, as a captain, must prevent.

“In the dressing room he is good, football tactically and technically not. You need another gentleman on the field. This has to do with leadership. He makes noise, but he says nothing. That’s true. This is in you. This is wanting to win at all costs.”

As Van Dijk stated, sometimes you just have to shut out the noise and focus on those that actually matter.

Latest Liverpool news – Semenyo / Wirtz / Salah / Isak

In other news, Liverpool have learned exactly what it would take to sign Antoine Semenyo in January amid a colossal five-word transfer update.

Elsewhere, we have aggregated everything the media has said about £116m summer signing Florian Wirtz following his two-assists masterclass against Frankfurt.

Click here to read article