Tim Sherwood has claimed that Virgil van Dijk is playing like it’s ‘too easy’, as he criticised the Liverpool defender amid the stick Trent Alexander-Arnold is also getting for his defending.
Jurgen Klopp watched his side come from 2-0 down to be leading 3-2 against Brighton on Saturday, only for another defensive lapse, this time from Van Dijk, to open their defensive back door again and result in the game finishing 3-3.
It’s been a weekend of hat-tricks, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden running riot in the Manchester derby, whilst Leandro Trossard was a thorn in Liverpool’s side at Anfield.
Going into Saturday’s game, there was a lot of limelight on Alexander-Arnold and his form, especially given his troubles with England whilst on international duty.
Gareth Southgate didn’t just leave the attacking fullback on the bench for England’s defeat to Italy, but he proceeded to leave him out of the matchday squad that recorded a 3-3 draw against Germany.
Well, Alexander-Arnold didn’t exactly answer critics against Brighton, and whilst he got stick for his performance, Sherwood was also keen to call out Van Dijk for what he is producing, as he told Premier League Productions (01/10/22 at 5:00 pm).
“For Liverpool, they have problems,” said Sherwood. “They have serious defensive problems.
“Not only Trent Alexander-Arnold, I know we are all getting on that bandwagon, but we are all only stating what the obvious is. And, at the moment, he’s not defending properly or correctly. He needs to improve. I think he’s young enough to develop and improve.
“But, not only him, the mainstay there. Van Dijk is making huge errors. It looks like he’s a little bit at one pace. Too cool to sweat and it was a poor error for the equalising goal.
“He finds it sometimes too easy, Van Dijk, and he is making a poor error because he’s switching off. You have to be concentrated all the time. If you aren’t playing well, make sure others are and organise them.”
EVERYTHING GOING WRONG AT THE BACK FOR LIVERPOOL
Only Alisson Becker can hold his hand up and say he is performing well for Liverpool at the back because everything else is going wrong.
Even the midfield against Brighton had one of their worse games and the Reds simply need to wake up sooner rather than later.
Many will still tip them to mount a Premier League title challenge because they are capable of going on ridiculous winning runs.
But, at some point, all of that is going to stop and they will start worrying about finishing in the Champions League places, which is a jam-packed race they just don’t want to get dragged into.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
