Overview
- Wayne Rooney reiterated on his BBC podcast that Virgil van Dijk has not been at his best this season and said a captain must address teammates and call meetings when form dips.
- Virgil van Dijk dismissed the pundit's assessment as “a bit of a lazy criticism,” stressed collective responsibility, and said he did not take the remarks personally.
- Rooney maintained his respect for van Dijk while standing by his view that the defender and Mohamed Salah have shown concerning body language during Liverpool’s poor run.
- Liverpool had lost six of seven matches, including four straight in the Premier League, before a 2-0 win over Aston Villa with goals from Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch.
- Van Dijk has played every minute of Liverpool’s ten league games and has three clean sheets, with the next tests coming against Real Madrid in the Champions League and Manchester City in the league.