Virgil van Dijk: 'No Reason for Panic' After Liverpool's UCL Loss to Napoli

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has said there's "no reason for panic" after his team's 2-0 loss to Napoli in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

For the second consecutive season, the Reds were beaten by the Serie A side at the San Paolo, with Dries Mertens and Fernando Llorente on the scoresheet for the Partenopei.

The loss was the first blemish on what has been a positive season for the Reds so far, as they've won all five of their Premier League matches and have a five-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the table.

With that in mind, it's no surprise Van Dijk was calm when asked for his thoughts following the loss in Italy, per Andy Hunter of the Guardian:

"I don't know if it's a wake-up call. Both sides were full in the game and thought it was going to be a draw. Obviously the penalty changed it all and we're going home with no points, but it shouldn't be a wake-up call. We've been performing since the start of the season outstanding so there's no reason for panic. 

"The majority in the game we played well, we put them under pressure and we created opportunities on the break. There's a lot of positive things apart from the result. We have to try to win our other games, and we now focus on Chelsea."

After Mertens put the hosts in front from the penalty spot, an uncharacteristic mistake from Van Dijk allowed Llorente to make the game safe:

Prior to that lapse in concentration from the Dutchman, Dominic King of the Daily Mail commented on how positive an impact the defender was having on the game:

Napoli is a challenging place to go, meaning a defeat at this venue isn't a disaster for the Reds.

As Van Dijk noted, there wasn't a huge amount between the two sides on the night, with Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian and Napoli stopper Alex Meret each called into action on a couple of occasions.

Eventually, it was the home side who managed to edge the game with some more ruthless attacking play late on, as Liverpool's defensive play slackened. 

While Van Dijk was culpable for the second goal, Matteo Bonetti of ESPN said some of the criticism of his error was over the top:

Per Squawka Football, throughout his Liverpool career, it's been rare to see the centre-back make costly mistakes:

After a draining game on Tuesday, Liverpool face another big challenge on Sunday in the Premier League when they visit Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea.

Manager Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to instruct his side to change too much from the Napoli clash aside from being more clinical in their attacking play and assertive at the back. During his time at the club, Van Dijk has helped ensure there is rarely an issue when it comes to the latter.