Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted to ignoring Jurgen Klopp's advice during the Reds' draw with Fulham at the start of the season.
The Reds drew 2-2 at Craven Cottage on the opening weekend, with Darwin Nunez scoring on his Premier League debut but Aleksandar Mitrovic netting twice for the London side. It was part of a slow start to the season from last year's runners-up, who have failed to win any of their five away league games so far.
Van Dijk has been a regular this term, and has been an important player for Klopp since signing in January 2018. However, he has revealed he declined to follow instructions from the boss as the clock ticked towards full-time in west London in August.
"In the last five minutes I was trying to go more direct and he was shouting at me that we had to play a little bit more," Van Dijk told Gary Neville on Overlap Xtra. "And I knew he was shouting from the side so I wasn't looking at him and didn't acknowledge him because I knew for a fact that he was going to [target him]."
Mitrovic had put Fulham ahead in the game, heading in before half-time, and restored the hosts' lead from the penalty spot after Nunez equalised. Mohamed Salah ensured the spoils were shared, but Liverpool were unable to find a late breakthrough.
Liverpool have taken just two points on the road, with a draw at Everton representing the only time they have avoided away defeat in the league since that game at Fulham. They have beaten Rangers at Ibrox, though, and can guarantee a spot in the Champions League last 16 with another away point against Ajax.
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Klopp reflected on the defeat at Forest on Saturday, telling Match of the Day his team's preparations had been hindered by an enforced last-minute change. Thiago missed the game with an ear infection, adding to the injury problems already affecting his team.
"We played against a deep defending side," the German said. "We didn’t train in this formation one second because Jones was not in the plans. He was close and we can see he is now fit which is great, but he didn’t play this position before.
"Then Thiago gets an infection over night and is out and you have to make a decision. Can Henderson start again? I was concerned from the medical department not too long so we changed like this. It was clear we had to get used to it. We didn’t hit the target and the goalie made a sensational save but that’s it now and we cannot change it."
