Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has hit back at Wayne Rooney for his ‘lazy’ criticism of the Dutchman and Mohamed Salah.
The Reds bounced back to winning ways on Saturday night by beating Aston Villa 2-0 after a seriously sticky patch for the Premier League champions.
Arne Slot’s side had lost four top flight games on the spin before that win over the Villains, also being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace and suffering a surprise defeat in the Champions League to Galatasaray.
The poor run of form and results attracted plenty of comment and Rooney felt that their two most senior players were not leading the team as they should be.
The former Red Devils and England forward suggested Van Dijk and Salah had lost something since signing their new contract earlier this year.
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‘This is a time where the manager and the leaders in the team need to figure it out very quickly,’ he said on The Wayne Rooney Show before Liverpool’s win over Villa.
‘Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season.
‘I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else.
‘I might be wrong on this, but if I was a Liverpool fan or the manager, that would be a big concern for me.’
That criticism was put to Van Dijk after the victory at Anfield on Saturday and he felt it was a poor conclusion to draw by Rooney.
The Dutch defender said: ‘I didn’t hear him last year. It doesn’t hurt me.
‘Just to come back to this particular player, 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 a bit of a lazy criticism.
‘It’s easy to blame the older players but he knows as well as everyone else that we do it together and try to help each other to get out of this. There are so many platforms nowadays that everyone can say whatever they like and it gets blown up.’
The Reds skipper did admit that criticism can hurt players, saying it is part of the team’s job to help each other through those times.
‘What I have noticed over the last couple of weeks especially is that there is a lot of noise that you have no control over and that we have to deal with as a team,’ he said. ‘Some of those takes are absolutely ridiculous. But you have to deal with that. It’s outside noise that can reach certain players, the group. It’s about sticking together.
‘And when there are difficult moments, I try to help my teammates. I try to put them in front of me and want to make them perform as in the best possible shape and then when things don’t go well then that’s the world we live in and people question loads of stuff, especially when you lose.’
‘I think everyone who was here felt the importance.’
Slot told the BBC of a crucial win for his side: ‘The margins are small every single game. After five minutes they hit the post. We didn’t concede a set piece, which was helpful, but also we got a bit lucky, which hasn’t happened recently. Our second goal was a deflection.
‘When they hit the post, that was their biggest chance. Over the last few weeks, every time that ball went in but this time it didn’t. Our second goal was a bit of luck, something which we haven’t had in the last few weeks.
‘The good thing about being 1-0 or 2-0 up is that you can control the game a bit better with more possession, but if you are trailing then you have to chase the game, take risks and risk being counter-attacked.
‘I think everyone who was here felt the importance of this game – the players and the fans as well. We showed character and won the game.’
from: elfutbolero.us