'I’m not giving excuses, I should’ve had it better': Virgil van Dijk admits he was at fault for Fulham's goal in Liverpool's crucial win - but James Milner claims 'it was me who put him in the mire'

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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted that he should have coped better for Fulham's goal in his side's 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage. 

Van Dijk headed the ball towards his own goal under pressure and Ryan Babel took full advantage to pull Fulham level.

James Milner's penalty ensured that Liverpool took all three points and went back to the top of the Premier League, but van Dijk was still ruing his error.  

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk admitted that he was at fault for Fulham's goal

Speaking on Sky Sports, van Dijk said: 'I’m not giving excuses, I should’ve had it better. They scored, but we scored again and got three points so we go home happy, top of the league.'   

Milner attempted to claim responsibility for Fulham's leveller, with his hashed clearance having put van Dijk under pressure. 

He said: '(It was the) biggest deflection I’ve seen but it was me who put him in the mire to be fair. 

James Milner claimed he was at fault for the host's goal, not van Dijk 

Van Dijk made an error that led to Fulham's goal, but Milner stated that he was responsible

'The gaffer said to come on and calm it down so the first thing I do is slice it over the top and put Virgil under pressure, which wasn’t ideal. Luckily enough we got the result and did what we needed to do.'

Reflecting on Fulham's goal, van Dijk told Sky Sports: 'We won the game, mistakes happen it’s football, obviously a couple of things happened and it is what it is but we go again.' 

Liverpool midfielder Milner went on to restore Liverpool's lead from the penalty spot

Milner's penalty ensured that Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League

Milner found himself in a high-pressure situation when he stepped up to take Liverpool's penalty in the 81st minute but he was calm from the spot.  

He said: 'It was important to put it away and made up for that. But there’s years of practice gone in to the penalties. In the game you’ve just got to go back to what you’ve practiced and be calm.'

Van Dijk also admitted that Liverpool weren't calm enough on the ball at times. 

He said: 'Obviously we knew it was going to be a very tough game. Especially second half we made it difficult on ourselves, we weren’t calm enough on the ball. 

Van Dijk admitted that at times Liverpool weren't calm enough in possession

'With my mistake it made it even more excited for then. In the end we got the three points.'  

Liverpool, who had earlier taken the lead through Sadio Mane, are now two points clear of their closest challengers Manchester City, who have a game in hand. 

Next up for Liverpool is a home game against Tottenham on March 31.