Virgil van Dijk reacts to Liverpool's elimination from Europa League

Liverpool are out of the Europa League after the completion of the quarter final stage.

The Reds fell 3-1 on aggregate to Atalanta, although the English side were victorious on Thursday with a 1-0 win in Bergamo. It was not enough after the Italians claimed a dominant 3-0 first leg victory at Anfield last week, and for Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk the second-leg result was bittersweet.

"Firstly credit to Atalanta," Van Dijk told TNT Sports. "Last week we were very poor and they had a good game. They deserved to go through because we made it far too difficult for ourselves.

"Tonight was a good game and we showed great fight. It was an improvement but the reality is we are out and we have to very quickly recover and travel to London on Saturday.

"We tried and we had opportunities. At times we wanted it too quickly as everyone was keen to get the second and third. But overall it isn’t enough.

"We are disappointed to be out of the competition as we really wanted to win it."

With nothing but the Premier League left to play for, Liverpool return to league action in third place and in need of three points on Sunday at Fulham.

The Reds are two points back of leaders Manchester City and cannot afford to fall further behind as the season draws to a close.

"We won tonight and we kept a clean sheet, so there are so many more positives we can take," Van Dijk said. "Yes, it is a bad feeling to be out so we have to get back up.

"We have been through difficult moments all together, so showing maturity and togetherness is the key to this. And professionalism to be ready for Sunday as that will also be a tough game. We all have a responsibility to be ready for it physically and mentally.

"We need everyone now for the last push in the league. Hopefully our fans will be there because we need them now more than ever because anything is still possible."

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