‘No arrogance’ – Liverpool’s Van Dijk on Keane criticism

Virgil Van Dijk has insisted he is not arrogant after his comments following Liverpool's goalless draw against Manchester United sparked criticism from United legend Roy Keane.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Van Dijk said: “There was only one team trying to win the game.

“It's frustrating because we were superior in every aspect and they were just hoping that the counter-attack would hurt us. In the end, they are buzzing with a point and we are disappointed with a point.”

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The Liverpool captain's remarks did not go down well with Keane, who said Van Dijk's comments were a sign of “arrogance”.

Dissing United. He plays for a club that has won one title in 30 years and he says only one team wanted to win, and United are getting a point?” » said Keane.

Van Dijk, however, stood by his comments.

“I like Roy Keane, if he says that then that's good. He's been Man United from the start and I understand he might react like that, but I felt what I said and he There's absolutely no arrogance there. Everyone who watched the game probably felt, “It's the same thing. We move forward. We had the chance and we couldn't score and that's what's frustrating,” Van Dijk said.

“Obviously they are not in the best situation and if you come here after losing last year with a big score you will be more than happy with a point. Everyone could see that. You could see what was their game plan and what we tried to do and I felt like what I said was right and we move on.

“If we learn from today, that would be fine with me. We've already had many games this season where we played against low blocks and played well, so we need to learn from that and move on.”

Van Dijk's frustration stemmed from Liverpool failing to find a breakthrough despite having 69% possession and 34 shots.

“I think we did everything to try and win the match. Maybe trying to force a little bit at times and we could have made a better decision, but it was difficult to break the low block and unfortunately we didn't We didn't win.” » said Van Dijk.

The result saw Liverpool drop to second place ahead of next Saturday's clash against league leaders Arsenal.