Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk 'shocked' by what he heard about Manchester United

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk believes that Manchester United were "disrespected" ahead of Sunday's 2-2 Premier League draw at Anfield.

The Red Devils headed to Merseyside on the back of a three-game losing run in the league, having also failed to score in those matches. However, they provided a more than stern test for the Premier League leaders and walked away with a well-deserved point after goals from Lisandro Martinez and Amad cancelled out strikes from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. Many pundits had predicted a comfortable win for Liverpool but Ruben Amorim's side showed plenty of grit. Liverpool boss Arne Slot was full of praise for United after the game and those sentiments were echoed by Van Dijk.

United not shown respect

Van Dijk admitted his "shock" after hearing in the build-up if Liverpool had considered rotating their squad for the game. The Reds did beat United 3-0 at Old Trafford towards the start of the season and despite the Red Devils sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League, Van Dijk does not feel that position is reflective of the quality within Amorim's ranks.

"Do I feel United were disrespected? Yeah," said Van Dijk after the game. "I heard in the press conference someone asked if we were going to rotate players against United. I was shocked. It is one of the biggest games of the season and United will always make it tough. To hear that, I was surprised. We are playing against a good opponent. I think everyone from the outside world forgets that by the sound that had been going around before the game. They have good players. They are obviously a work in progress like we are but they made it difficult for us."

'Could have been worse'

Van Dijk admitted that the result could have been a lot worse for Liverpool. Harry Maguire spurned a golden chance in the final minute of the game as he put a shot over the bar from the centre of the penalty area. Liverpool did lead the game 2-1 before Amad hauled United level and Van Dijk admits the hosts did not keep the ball well enough after taking the lead.

"It could have been a lot worse if we are absolutely honest with ourselves,” Van Dijk told BBC Radio 5 Live. “They had a big chance in the end that could have been a lot worse than where we are now. I'm definitely disappointed with dropping points at home but it is what is and we have to move on and we will.

"We found the 2-1 and then it is about trying to manage the game and keep the ball for longer than three and four passes. We lost the ball too easily at times and then we were more open than we should have been. We're not perfect, we're still learning and we have to learn from this as well."