Rio Ferdinand has criticised Virgil van Dijk when comparing him to past greats after Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid.
Van Dijk has been slammed by a number of pundits for his declining displays such as Jamie Carragher, Tim Sherwood, Michael Owen and Andy Townsend.
As Liverpool bowed out of the Champions League after another meek loss against Real Madrid, Rio Ferdinand called out Virgil van Dijk.
Rio Ferdinand talks all things Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool vs Real Madrid
The £220,000-a-week centre-back has been culpable for a number of mistakes this campaign, going back as recently as his passive defending for Bournemouth’s winner against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
After Liverpool suffered yet another humbling courtesy of Real Madrid, Rio Ferdinand had his say on Virgil van Dijk.
“I think there are phases in your career when things don’t go to plan. But you look at the great centre-halves of years gone by. For instance, John Terry, Jaap Staam, [Nemanja] Vidic, [Vincent] Kompany etc, Sol Campbell, the list goes on”, he said on BT Sport.
Ferdinand continued to assess Van Dijk after Liverpool lost to Real Madrid, saying, “I don’t remember them having a season off or big periods in the season where you have maybe 8 or 9 games where it isn’t going well. The form of the team plays a part in that I think as well. The form of this team does have an effect.”
“I think that’s the one thing I will give grace to Virgil van Dijk. Sometimes, you’re as good as your team around you as well. You need the team to perform to perform at your best. He hasn’t had teams performing in the way that would suit his style of play at the moment.”
“And the reason why is because the pressure up the pitch is so good that when the ball does come out, it’s coming up to one striker on his own who’s isolated probably 2v1 or he’s thinking, ‘I’ve got no chance, Virgil van Dijk.’ The ball is not in his favour so it plays into his hands.”
While Liverpool fans may be livid with Rio Ferdinand about his take on Virgil Van Dijk, his post-match thoughts after the Real Madrid triumph are fair and balanced.
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