Liverpool 2-1 Ajax: Van Dijk called out 'ex-footballers' who've criticised his team

Liverpool finally got back to winning ways on Tuesday night.

After last week’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Napoli, which followed the 0-0 draw against Everton in the Merseyside derby, the Reds simply had to pick up a victory over Ajax.

If they had failed to do so, progress to the knockout stage of the 2022/23 Champions League would have been anything but a foregone conclusion.

But thankfully for Liverpool fans, the team were able to secure a 2-1 win over the Dutch side thanks to Joel Matip’s dramatic late winner at Anfield.

The goal from the former Schalke defender could kickstart the Reds’ 2022/23 season after their rather shaky start.

Liverpool currently sit seventh in the Premier League table on nine points from six games and their aforementioned humbling in Naples saw them heavily criticised – particularly by the pundits.

To be honest, the players can have no real complaints about the recent criticism, as most of them were downright awful at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

However, Virgil van Dijk still took the opportunity to call out the “ex-footballers” who’ve been vocal about Liverpool’s struggles in his post-match interview on Tuesday.

While speaking to BT Sport alongside match-winner Matip, the Dutchman quipped: “Don’t listen to the outside world, that is the most important thing. It’s funny – there are a lot of ex-football players and they know what we go through but they say a lot of things to try and get us down.

“We know last week was unacceptable – today is a step in the right direction.”

Check out BT Sport’s interview with the two Liverpool centre-backs in full…

"Do you remember when your last Champions League goal was? Nine years ago!"