Virgil van Dijk was taken aback by a question posed to him by Michael Owen after Liverpool beat Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday.
Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game to take Liverpool 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table in what turned out to be another controversial affair as James Tarkowski â who scored the late, late equaliser in the return fixture in February â somehow avoided a red card for a high, studs up challenge on Alexis Mac Allister in the 11th minute.
Jamie Carragher branded it a âshockingâ decision by referee Sam Barrott and VAR Paul Tierney, while ex-Premier League official Mike Dean waved away the PGMOL statement after the game.
Liverpool remain huge favourites to win their second Premier League title, but having been dumped out of the Champions League by PSG and losing the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle ahead of the international break, Owen suggested itâs a season that could leave players with a âbitter tasteâ.
âItâs been a frustrating couple of weeks,â Owen told Premier League Productions after Liverpoolâs win over Everton.
âLiverpool were poised to have a phenomenal season, if they win the Premier League itâll still be fantastic but with a little bit of a bitter taste because it was building into something special.
âI think it Liverpool fans hard, and the manager and the players, to go out of competitions in quick succession.
âThe dust will settle, everyone will realise if itâs the Premier League they win at the end of the season and only the Premier League thatâll be an incredible season and they wouldâve snapped your hand off for that at the start of the season.
âBut it doesnât stop the feeling of the last few weeks and to get that winning feeling back will be really important to everybody connected with the club.â
In a post-match interview, Owen asked Van Dijk: âIâm just thinking in terms of the season so far, if youâd have said at the start of the season you were going to win the Premier League Iâm sure people wouldâve been over the moon. However, it was building into something really special â how hard was it after a couple of big defeats in cup competitions to get your mind tuned back into the Premier League and to finish the season well?â
Van Dijk clearly didnât agree with Owenâs take, curtly replying: âSo youâre suggesting the season is not going to be special any more?â
Owen said: âIt will be, absolutely, it will be special, but I thought it couldâve been building into something very special.â
Van Dijk replied: âWell, I think we have to change that narrative a little bit.
âWeâre fighting for the biggest prize of the season, we worked so hard for it, 20 teams are working so hard to be on top of the Premier League.
âWe have eight games to go, we know whatâs at stake, we have to go for it, we have to fight, we have to enjoy the whole ride and then letâs see. Like I said, itâs still looking very special in my eyes.
âI think what you said, at the start of the season, I think no one expected us to even try to fight on all four fronts, obviously weâre at the stage now where weâre still fighting for the biggest, and thatâs the reality. Itâs still a possibility that this season will be very, very special.â
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After the interview, Owen doubled down on his analysis of Liverpoolâs season.
âI stand by what I said. If you had said at the start of the season that Liverpool would win the Premier league, itâs a very, very top season,â Owen said.
âAs Virgil said, not many people gave them a chance really, especially changing their manager after so long with Jurgen Klopp being there.
âHowever, it was building into something incredibly special and I just wondered after a couple of weeks of disappointment how hard was it to re-focus, but obviously he gave us the answer.â
