Report: Van Dijk Left Teammates Shocked with Fiery Tunnel Outburst After Forest Defeat

The noise surrounding Liverpool’s reaction to the Forest defeat keeps growing, but fresh details from inside Anfield may hint at where a revival could start. Van Dijk’s fury after the loss shows the captain is stepping up.

According to Andy Hunter of The Guardian, the skipper was “much louder” than usual as he addressed the team in the tunnel after the 3-0 defeat. The 34-year-old demanded full accountability from everyone. “You should be angry,” he reportedly told the squad, stressing how serious the situation has become.

“The main thing for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.”

When asked if his teammates are actually doing that, he was brutally direct: “I don’t know. But you have to… it’s the main thing I want the boys to do.”

His message followed the blunt media interview where he warned that Liverpool are conceding “too many easy goals” and insisted “we all have to look in the mirror” after Forest became just the fourth Premier League side ever to win by three or more at Anfield.

Van Dijk’s reaction also ties into wider concerns about his future.

The confrontation came during the same week he admitted he’s thinking about when to retire from international football, acknowledging that the peak years of his career are nearing their end. In a recent Netherlands address, he told his teammates: “I’m proud to be the captain… we have so much quality.”

That same drive to lead is evident at Kirkby, where he appears determined to drag Liverpool out of their slump before the season slips further away.

Hunter reports that Van Dijk’s tunnel message wasn’t about blaming individuals but about demanding unity and maturity at a time the team has lost six of its first twelve league games.

No one in the dressing room will be unclear now about what their captain expects.