Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said ahead of Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Anfield that he believed Manchester United had been “disrespectful”.

A late equalizer from Amad Diallo prevented Liverpool from winning after Arne Slot’s side canceled out Lisandro Martínez’s strike with goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah.

Before the game, Premier League leaders were expected to comfortably beat Liverpool United, who had lost three games in a row before traveling to Merseyside.

However, Ruben Amorim’s side produced arguably their most impressive performance of the season, keeping Liverpool at bay, and Van Dijk admitted he felt the media had underestimated United before the game.

“Do I feel like United have been disrespected? Yes,” said Van Dijk after the game. “I heard in the press conference that someone asked if we would rotate players against United.

“I was shocked. It’s one of the biggest games of the season and United are always going to make it difficult. When I heard that, I was surprised.”

“We are playing against a good opponent. I think everyone from the outside world forgets that when you look at the noise before the game. They have good players. They are of course still developing, just like us, but they have made it difficult for us.

Van Dijk also defended teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was criticized for his lackluster performance against United. Both Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold – alongside Salah – are out of contract at the end of the season, but it is the right-back who has been at the center of recent transfer speculation.

Real Madrid approached Liverpool last week about signing Alexander-Arnold in the January transfer window, but their advances were quickly rebuffed by the club. Some fans and pundits have suggested that the 26-year-old’s disappointing performance on Sunday was linked to the excitement surrounding his future, but Van Dijk disagrees.

“No. I’m fine,” said the central defender. “Trent has his own people around him, his family and we are there too.

“Like all of us, he wants to perform to the best of his ability. That is the main focus. In my opinion, you might ask him, that’s the distraction, the game.”