Virgil van Dijk has gone back at Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney following comments on Liverpool’s recent slump in form.
Liverpool ended their four-game Premier League losing streak in an exciting encounter against Aston Villa, where they came away from Anfield with a 2-0 win.
Goals courtesy of Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah ensured Arne Slot’s side walked away with all three points, which was deserved as they managed to keep Villa at bay for most of the game.
Having lost four on the bounce, the Reds still somehow sit third in the table, but only by a fine margin, with one point separating them from Manchester United, who are currently seventh. Based on pre-season expectations, Liverpool are clearly underperforming and have received criticism from fans and pundits alike.
Wayne Rooney aimed his criticism at Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah in particular, the senior leadership figures in the side, singling out the pair for their lack of leadership this season.
Van Dijk “didn’t hear” criticism from Rooney last season
Van Dijk has labelled Rooney’s criticism of Liverpool’s supposed lack of leadership as ‘lazy’, following the Reds’ 2-0 win over Villa. A clean sheet and a goal from Salah somewhat back up the defender’s claim, but the Dutchman will be looking to work through the ‘difficult moments’ going forward.
Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show last week, the ex-England international was not shy to point out the pair’s body language was “not right” and could be a key factor in Liverpool’s poor form.
However, speaking after the game, Van Dijk responded to United’s record goalscorer by saying: “No, it doesn’t hurt me to be honest. Just to come back to this particular player [Rooney], obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things, but I feel that comment is just I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism.
“That’s my personal opinion. It’s easy to blame the other players but he knows obviously as well as everyone else we do it together trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this and, like I said as well, last year when things go well you don’t hear that at all. It is what it is.”
The Liverpool captain will be hoping to make Rooney eat his words by beating two of Europe’s toughest teams in the upcoming week, Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and Manchester City the following Sunday.
United’s upcoming fixtures could propel them above Liverpool
Without European fixtures, the Red Devils have a less congested schedule than their Merseyside rivals, a factor which will give United and Rúben Amorim an advantage, having more time on the training ground and less need to rotate the squad.
Although United fans may be disappointed by Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest, it is a performance that can teach the management a lot of things about the side. Specifically, managing how the side starts the second half and ensuring heads don’t drop after conceding.
Amorim will have more contact time with the players in training throughout the week to drill these messages through to the players. Whilst Arne Slott has to focus on Madrid and City, two games which are guaranteed to take a toll on the Liverpool players.
Three out of five of United’s next games come against teams currently in the bottom five, providing Amorim with a perfect platform to propel up the table just in time for the window.
If United were to bring in some solid reinforcements throughout the January transfer window, there is no reason they cannot push up the table, above some sides who were favourites to be pushing for the title before the season began.
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