Micah Richards reveals why Virgil van Dijk is struggling at Liverpool
Liverpool’s tough spell continued over the weekend with another setback, as they fell to defeat against Brentford. The result marked their fourth consecutive Premier League loss under Arne Slot, leaving the Reds down in seventh place.
While much of the discussion has centred on the struggles of new arrivals Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, several key players from last season have also failed to hit their previous heights — notably captain Virgil van Dijk.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football (via TBR Football), Alan Shearer criticised van Dijk and his defensive partner Ibrahima Konate for their poor showing at Brentford.
“They’re just bad all over the pitch,” Shearer said. “You can talk about the midfield and the lack of protection, or the attack not clicking, but defensively — my word. Van Dijk and Konate were a mess. The full-backs have had plenty of criticism, and rightly so, but the centre-backs were dreadful. Both of them were all over the place at Brentford.”
Micah Richards echoed Shearer’s comments, suggesting van Dijk’s form has dipped partly because he’s not getting enough support from Konate.
“They were both poor,” Richards admitted. “But I think Van Dijk’s struggling because he’s having to do too much on his own. In the past, he’s been the one saving Liverpool time and again, but now he needs Konate to step up — and that’s not happening. You can’t have both centre-halves off form at the same time.”
Liverpool now face mounting pressure to turn things around quickly if they are to keep their Premier League title hopes alive, as their grip on the crown continues to weaken.
