Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has come under fire for allegedly “shifting blame” onto one of his teammates during the Reds’ 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.
The 34-year-old endured a difficult afternoon against Ruben Amorim’s men and was partly at fault for Bryan Mbeumo’s early opener just two minutes into the match.
The incident unfolded when Van Dijk, Mbeumo, and Alexis Mac Allister contested a high ball that eventually dropped to Bruno Fernandes. The United skipper quickly found Amad Diallo on the right, who slipped a precise through ball behind Liverpool’s backline for Mbeumo to finish.
Van Dijk appeared to expect his defensive partner Ibrahima Konaté to pick up the Cameroonian attacker, but Mbeumo found space between both centre-backs to the frustration of the Anfield crowd.
The loss marked Liverpool’s fourth consecutive defeat, leaving them four points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal after eight games.
New signings Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Jeremie Frimpong are yet to hit their stride, while Mohamed Salah has struggled to influence matches. Meanwhile, Van Dijk and Konaté’s partnership has looked unsteady, drawing criticism from pundits.
“Virgil van Dijk, to me, isn’t leading right now — he’s blaming,” said former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley on ESPN.
“Kerkez is clearly struggling. He’s feeling the pressure of playing for a massive club with huge expectations. But when your captain keeps glaring at you or calling you out every few minutes, that doesn’t help.
“Even at the end, when the clearance hit Kerkez in the face — what’s he supposed to do? He’s covering behind Van Dijk, and then Van Dijk turns around gesturing at him. The fans see that, and it only makes things worse.”
Since arriving from Bournemouth in the summer, Hungarian left-back Milos Kerkez has endured a difficult start at Anfield. Gary Neville even claimed he was playing “like a ten-year-old” during his post-match remarks on The Gary Neville Podcast.
In eight Premier League appearances for the reigning champions, the 21-year-old has yet to contribute a goal or assist and continues to struggle defensively.
Liverpool will look to bounce back on Wednesday when they travel to Germany to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League league phase.
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