Virgil van Dijk has ‘got to lead by example’ to overturn Liverpool’s abysmal form as he looks ‘a shadow of himself’, believes Alan Shearer.
The Reds are on a horrific run of results, having lost nine of their last 12 matches in all competitions.
That run has continued since the November international break ended, with Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League defeat by Nottingham Forest at Anfield followed by a 4-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday in the Champions League. Van Dijk gave away a penalty in midweek for a bizarre handball too, which PSV scored the opening goal from.
Pressure is mounting on under-fire manager Arne Slot, despite guiding Liverpool to the title last season, but Shearer says there are so many problems on the pitch – with captain Van Dijk one of them.
Alan Shearer on Liverpool and Virgil van Dijk
‘I think the damaging thing for Arne Slot and for Liverpool at the minute is the manner of the defeats,’ he told Betfair.
‘If you’re going down and you’re unlucky, conceding unlucky or last-minute goals, then you say, okay, there’s plenty to work on. But the manner of the defeat… it’s hard enough losing any game, but the way they’re being beat has to be a huge concern because they’re all over the place.
‘If it was one problem, maybe you could fix it, but there’s issues all over the pitch. In forward positions they look devoid of ideas.
‘Defensively it’s a massive worry, they’re struggling for a right back, and [Dominik] Szoboszlai started there, then [Curtis] Jones went in there. [Milos] Kerkez has been really poor.
‘Van Dijk, well you look to your captain to put in big performances, yet Virgil’s performances… he looks leggy, slow, puzzled. He’s a shadow of the player from last season, as is Ibrahima Konate. I suppose you can say that about any Liverpool player right now.
‘We’re talking about him because he’s the captain and voice of the dressing room. His words at the weekend were concerning, saying they need to look at themselves, do better, roll up their sleeves, and fight. Well, he’s got to lead by example, and at the minute, he’s a shadow of himself.
‘You can say the same about [Mohamed] Salah, Konate, and most of the new signings, other than [Hugo] Ekitike, who went off injured. Even then, Slot left him out at the weekend, which I thought was strange. Other than him, there’s not a lot of responsibility being shown.
‘Jamie Carragher pointed out that Salah is quick to speak when he gets Man of the Match or is negotiating a new contract, and I understand that side of it. But the time for talking is on the pitch, not off it.
‘Whether you do interviews or not is irrelevant, you do your talking with performances. Salah isn’t doing that, Van Dijk isn’t, and many others aren’t either. That’s the real concern.’
Credit: Betfair
Liverpool are in a ‘big crisis’
Liverpool are looking to arrest their disastrous form on Sunday when they travel to West Ham United, but even if they do Shearer says their results have been ‘unacceptable’ and they are in a ‘big crisis’.
‘It’s a big crisis already at Liverpool. We said maybe ten days ago it would become a crisis if they lost the next couple of games, and they have. Worse, they’ve lost them badly. Conceding three at home to Forest, four at home to PSV, who’ve only won three of 26 away games, tells you it’s a crisis.
‘At other clubs maybe not, but at Liverpool, that’s unacceptable.’
