Nicol claims Liverpool ace has taken a ‘step down’ in performances since becoming champion

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Steve Nicol has claimed that Virgil van Dijk has taken a ‘step down’ in performances ever since Liverpool became Premier League champions, as he told ESPN.

Jurgen Klopp’s men recorded a thrilling 4-3 win against Leeds United on Saturday, with Van Dijk making a mistake, which led to a goal, during the match.

Given the status Van Dijk has built up during his time at Anfield, it’s understandable that his error has made headlines.

But Nicol claimed that Van Dijk, Klopp and Liverpool need to ‘go back to square one’ in regards to their defending.

“Since actually Liverpool won the league, he has stepped off his perch and onto somebody else’s,” Nicol told ESPN. “When Liverpool signed him, up until his signing, they had problems defensively. This guy came in and absolutely solidified it. He was the rock.

“But now, after this performance [against Leeds], and previously, Liverpool and Klopp have to go back to square one when Van Dijk came in. Get on the training field and do what they did to make it a good line, a solid line and an organised line because it wasn’t those things.

“It hasn’t been like that since they won the Premier League. Van Dijk has taken a step down. He has to dust himself off, have a look at what he did right and have a look at what he’s doing wrong and start again. That’s what Liverpool have to do defensively – if they don’t they have no chance of defending the Premier League title.”

Over the summer, all the talk has been about Liverpool’s midfield and potentially needing to add some much-needed depth to the attacking third.

The last thing Klopp needs is for his defence to suffer problems this season because that will result in him having a headache he doesn’t want.

At the end of the day, even though Liverpool were making a defensive mess of it against Leeds, they saw through all the drama and secured all three points.