Virgil van Dijk hits back at Roy Keane’s ‘arrogant’ dig after Manchester United vs Liverpool

Despite Roy Keane’s criticism, Virgil van Dijk maintains that his remarks regarding Man United’s defensive performance at Anfield were not preposterous.

Virgil van Dijk has responded to Roy Keane’s claims (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

When Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool, criticized Manchester United’s defensive performance at Anfield, he did not mean to come across as haughty.

Roy Keane, a former United player, responded to the Dutchman’s remarks, labeling them as haughty and inconsiderate. “He needs a reminder himself; he’s playing for a club that have won the title once in 30-odd years,” Keane replied.

Now that the game is over, Van Dijk has defended his remarks, saying there was only honesty and no arrogance. “It’s okay if Roy Keane said that; I like him,” he replied. “He is a Man United supporter at all times, so I can see how he could react in that way, but there is never any conceit in what I said.

“I think that feeling was shared by everyone who watched the game. We proceed. The disappointing thing is that, despite having the chance, we were unable to score.” The draw put an end to a record-tying run of 34 games for Jurgen Klopp’s team, marking the first time since April that they had failed to score.

They attempted 34 shots, the most since they had not scored in 2003–04. Van Dijk, a defender for Liverpool, suggested that the team might be trying too hard, particularly in their most recent match.

“Maybe (we were) trying to force it a little bit at times and we could have made a better decision but it was hard to break the low block down,” he explained. You exert all of your effort and push yourself to the limit, but on that particular day, we were unable to make the best choice in order to score a goal.

“At times I won’t say every time we forced it too much to find a solution which wasn’t there but that’s football.”