Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been criticised for ‘shifting blame’ to one of his teammates during the Reds’ 2-1 defeat against Manchester United.
Van Dijk, 34, endured a tough afternoon against Ruben Amorim’s side and had a hand in allowing Bryan Mbeumo to open the scoring just two minutes in.
The Dutchman, Mbeumo and Alexis Mac Allister all challenged for a high ball, which then fell to Bruno Fernandes, who passed it to Amad on United’s right and Liverpool’s left flank.
The Ivorian faced left-back Milos Kerkez before threading a perfectly weighted pass behind the home side’s defence, which was then finished by Mbeumo.
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It appeared that Van Dijk intended to pass the galloping Cameroonian onto his partner Ibrahima Konate, but the goalscorer got in between both Liverpool centre-backs to the dismay of the Anfield faithful.
The defeat was Liverpool’s fourth successive loss, leaving them four points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal after eight matches this term.
New signings Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong have yet to find form, while usual star man Mohamed Salah is also struggling to impact games positively.
Meanwhile, captain Van Dijk and Konate have not been at their absolute best this term, with one former Premier League midfielder claiming the 34-year-old is “blaming” one of his teammates rather than “leading”.
“Virgil van Dijk, to me, is not leading at the moment. He’s blaming,” former Chelsea man Craig Burley told ESPN.
“Kerkez is having a bad time, there’s no doubt about it.
“He’s getting swallowed up by the pressure of going in with these big players in this huge football club with these big expectations, but I don’t think it helps when your captain’s looking at him every two minutes and blaming him or digging him out.
“Even at the end, the clearance that comes off Kerkez’s face. What’s he supposed to do? He’s tucking in behind Van Dijk.
“Van Dijk’s turning around, and he’s gesturing to him. The crowd see it, and I just don’t think that helps the situation.”
Since joining Liverpool from Bournemouth in the summer, Hungarian left-back Kerkez has not started well and was even accused of playing “like a ten-year-old” by Gary Neville, who spoke on the ‘Gary Neville Podcast’ after the match.
In his eight Premier League appearances for the reigning English champions, the 21-year-old has failed to register a single goal or assist while also looking far from convincing defensively.
Liverpool return to action on Wednesday when they will face Eintracht Frankfurt away in the Champions League league phase.
Topics: Liverpool, Virgil Van Dijk, Premier League, Football, Manchester United, Ibrahima Konate, Anfield
Luke Davies