BBC pundit skewers Virgil Van Dijk for “atrocious” defending in Tottenham encounter

A BBC pundit was critical of Liverpool star Virgil Van Dijk for his performance against Tottenham Hotspur.

A topsy-turvy game at Anfield saw Liverpool go 3-0 up in the opening 15 minutes, courtesy of Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.

However, Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min both netted for the visitors to set up a grandstand finish before former Everton striker Richarlison levelled in the third minute of stoppage time - his first Premier League goal for Spurs.

Both teams looked to be coming away with a point, but straight from the kick-off Diogo Jota capitalised on Lucas Moura's poor back pass to finish past Fraser Forster and send Anfield into raptures.

The stunning finale even saw Reds manager Jurgen Klopp pick up a hamstring injury during his touchline sprint after the goal.

Van Dijk criticised

Despite Liverpool’s dramatic victory, Van Dijk was criticised for his role in Tottenham's opener.

The Netherlands international slipped as he tried to close down Ivan Perisic on the break, which allowed the 34-year-old to cross for Kane, who smashed the ball through Alisson Becker’s legs and into the net.

And after the game, BBC Sport pundit Stephen Kelly singled out Van Dijk for criticism. The 31-year-old, previously described by TalkSport's Jason Cundy as “overrated”, has endured his poorest season to date in a Liverpool shirt.

Speaking on the Football Daily Podcast, Kelly said: “Apart from the unbelievable chances, the defending at times if you actually analyse it as a coach, some of the defending was atrocious.

“It was so bad from both sides, it really was. In the second half, Liverpool looked so vulnerable.

“[Virgil] Van Dijk, he’s had an off-season, and maybe he can get back to what he was.

“But, when he’s chasing down [Ivan] Perisic and Perisic chops inside and he slips over, I’m like, Van Dijk would have got there and just eaten him alive and pushed him into the corner and shown him away, and Perisic would have turned away and sort of run back. That’s the way he was.

“But there’s a vulnerability to him now that wasn’t there before and Liverpool have that, but they still came away winners with Moura giving that chance away.”

Topics: Football, Virgil Van Dijk, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.