Virgil van Dijk slammed for 'lazy' defending for Bournemouth's opener against Liverpool

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been scolded for a poor piece of defending for Bournemouth's opener.

The Reds started brightly at the Vitality Stadium as they looked to build on the 7-0 hammering of Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

But it was the hosts, who surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose at Arsenal last weekend, who took a surprise lead.

Philip Billing found the net for the second consecutive game after getting on the end of Dango Ouattara's cut-back inside the area.

But Van Dijk was all over the place in the build-up. He was caught out by the ball in behind when he tried to play offside and then ended up getting cooked by Ouattara, stumbling over like Lisandro Martinez did in his duel against Mo Salah.

He also appeared to stop dead and did not rush back to make a challenge.

What is Van Dijk doing💀pic.twitter.com/shAUP7NAbj

— Viran🇲🇾 (@MadnessFc4) March 11, 2023

It's not what you would normally expect from Van Dijk, who is typically so strong in 1v1 situations.

And unsurprisingly he got panned by fans online, who did not hold back with their takes.

One wrote: "They came at Martinez for slipping when Van Dijk does this."

Another said: "Ouattara sprinting past Van Dijk like that feels like the kind of thing you never ever saw a few years ago."

A third opined: "That’s unforgivable defending from Virgil van Dijk. Total complacency not to track Dango Ouattara. Could have prevented cross but quite literally gave up. So poor."

A fourth concurred: "Van Dijk looked like he wasn't fully committed there. If he showed better intensity he either wins the ball or puts the Bournemouth player off more. Playing with his slippers on can be costly."

A final user summed up it: "Van Dijk off it today. Too nonchalant. More frustrating that he is looking elsewhere after his errors rather than to himself."

Van Dijk also had a huge chance to equalise for Liverpool towards the end of the half when he emerged free in the area but somehow headed wide from close range.