Virgil van Dijk rejected suggestions that the noise surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold played a role in his performance against Manchester United.
Alexander-Arnold, 26, was responsible for United's opening goal and produced a chaotic performance in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool's bitter rivals. The right-back gave the ball away 25 times during the match and failed to win a single game before coming on as a late substitute for Conor Bradley.
The display came after a week of speculation over his future after Real Madrid looked to sign him this month. The defender is out of contract at the end of the season and, like Van Dijk and Mo Salah, has yet to agree a new contract.
But Alexander-Arnold's captain Van Dijk quickly refuted any idea that the display was due to speculation with a one-word response. Asked if he believed the noise around Alexander-Arnold played a role, he replied: “No.”
Van Dijk was then asked whether the doubts about the future of three players are something that concerns him. He added: “I'm fine with it. Trent has his own people around him, his family and we are there too. He wants to perform to the best of his ability, just like we all do. That is the main focus. In my opinion, maybe ask him, that is the distraction… the game.”
Van Dijk did not panic about the two points loss against United, who came into the match after four consecutive defeats. The draw left the Reds six points clear of Premier League title rivals Arsenal, with the Dutchman finding it bizarre that Ruben Amorim's side had been written off beforehand.
He said: “We are playing against a good opponent. I think everyone from the outside world forgets that because of the noise going around before the match. They have good players. They are obviously a work in progress, just like us, but they have made things difficult for us.
“We were there last year too and I think we drew 0-0. It is always a special specimen (this fixture) and this is no different. We could and should have done better if we had the ball longer. We also showed good things, resilience again after being 1-0 behind. So there were good things and not so good things. We must stand up.”
But what left Van Dijk baffled was a suggestion in the pre-match press conference that Liverpool were so comfortable favorites to win that boss Arne Slot might rest players.
He added: “I heard at the press conference that someone asked if we were going to change players against United. I was shocked. It's one of the biggest games of the season and United are always going to make it difficult. When I heard that, I was surprised.”
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