Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has criticised former footballers who “try and get us down” after beating Ajax 2-1 in the Champions League.
The Reds have had a mixed start to the new Premier League season with nine points from a possible 18 on offer, while they lost their first Champions League match of the campaign 4-1 to Napoli last week.
Their general performances had led to criticism from a number of former players and pundits with social media and the Mailbox going overboard with ‘Klopp out’ suggestions.
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Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus cancelled out Mo Salah’s first goal in eight European outings on Tuesday night before a Joel Matip header sealed the Reds’ first Champions League win of the season at Anfield.
And Liverpool defender Van Dijk took a pop at their critics after the match, with last season’s Premier League runners-up written off for the title at such an early stage of the campaign.
“Not listening to the outside world is the most important thing,” Van Dijk told BT Sport.
“It’s funny sometimes because there’s a lot of ex football players and they know exactly what we go through but they say a lot of things to try and get us down.
“We know exactly that last week was unacceptable, it was very bad and we try to make it right.
“This is a step to the right direction, don’t get carried away because we play so many games.
“Now it’s time to focus on the national team or get a well deserved break for a little bit and then crack on.”
Liverpool don’t have another match until October 1, following the postponement of their clash against Chelsea in London at the weekend, due to policing issues associated with the Queen’s funeral.
Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder insists his side have learned some important lessons after conceding late in the game on Tuesday.
“When the goal happens with a dead-ball situation it’s quite sour. We have lots of young players and they can learn a lesson from that,” Schreuder said.
“I can live with the defeat, of course. I can’t say it was underserved. Liverpool were the better team this evening, there’s no shame in that, but you have to learn from that.
“We have to look at what we can do better. We will have a look further at the intensity, we don’t have that in the Dutch League, it’s quicker at this level. It’s a learning moment for us.”
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