Van Dijk Criticized for Calling Out Teammate After Man Utd Loss

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has come under fire for allegedly “shifting the blame” onto a teammate during the Reds’ 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

The 34-year-old endured a difficult outing against Ruben Amorim’s side and played a part in Bryan Mbeumo’s early opener just two minutes into the game.

Aerially contesting a high ball with Mbeumo and Alexis Mac Allister, Van Dijk saw it drop to Bruno Fernandes, who quickly found Amad Diallo on United’s right flank. The winger then outsmarted left-back Milos Kerkez before slipping a precise through ball behind Liverpool’s defence for Mbeumo to slot home.

It seemed Van Dijk had intended to pass Mbeumo on to his defensive partner, Ibrahima Konate, but the striker managed to get between both centre-backs — much to the frustration of the Anfield crowd.

The defeat marked Liverpool’s fourth consecutive loss, leaving them four points adrift of league leaders Arsenal after eight games.

New arrivals Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Jeremie Frimpong are still struggling to make an impact, while Mohamed Salah has also found it difficult to influence matches.

Meanwhile, Van Dijk and Konate have both been below their best this season. Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley has accused the Liverpool skipper of “blaming” teammates instead of leading by example.

“Virgil van Dijk, to me, isn’t leading right now — he’s blaming,” Burley said on ESPN. “Kerkez is having a tough time, no question. He’s under pressure at a massive club with huge expectations, but it doesn’t help when your captain keeps turning to you, pointing fingers, and digging you out.

“Even at the end, when the clearance hit Kerkez’s face — what’s he supposed to do? He’s covering behind Van Dijk. Then Van Dijk turns around gesturing at him — the crowd sees it, and that doesn’t help anyone.”

Kerkez, who joined Liverpool from Bournemouth in the summer, has endured a rough start. Gary Neville even accused him of playing “like a ten-year-old” on The Gary Neville Podcast after the match.

In eight Premier League appearances for the defending champions, the 21-year-old Hungarian has yet to record a goal or assist and continues to look shaky defensively.

Liverpool will aim to bounce back on Wednesday when they face Eintracht Frankfurt away in the Champions League group stage.