Virgil van Dijk ‘blasts pair of really sloppy’ Liverpool teammates at Tottenham
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was seen shouting at his defence after a “really sloppy” first-half performance against Tottenham, according to Phil McNulty.
The Reds started a rotated line-up in their 1-0 loss to Spurs including outcasts Jarell Quansah and Kostas Tsmiskas.
The pair both conceded possession in the opening ten minutes but luckly did not concede early on.
BBC Sport chief football writer McNulty wrote BBC Sport’s liveblog and said (8.10pm): “Virgil van Dijk has just been reading the riot act to Liverpool’s defence after some really sloppy work, first from Kostas Tsimikas then Jarell Quansah, who both conceded possession cheaply and in dangerous areas.
“Alisson has already saved well from Radu Dragusin and Van Dijk is demanding better”.
The Reds controversially went 1-0 down after Spurs’ Lucas Bergvall scored his first for the club moments after avoiding a red card for a foul on Tsimikas, with the full-back off the pitch when the goal went in.
Liverpool and Arne Slot want to fight on all fronts
Football Insider opinion
Arne Slot’s team are in incredible form despite the 1-0 loss to Spurs. They currently top both the Premier League and Champions League standings, and are also in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Given their success, it’s understandable why Van Dijk wants more from the defence. Ultimately, players strive to win trophies and the Carabao Cup is important to this team.
Slot, too, will not be happy with the sloppy mistakes made in the match, but the situation was made worse for Quansah, who suffered an injury during the game.
This has led fans to call for a new signing, as the Reds have already experienced injury setbacks this season. For example, Ibrahima Konaté was sidelined earlier in the campaign.
Despite these challenges, the Dutch international has maintained his exceptional form this season and has remained in high spirits on social media earlier this week.
Liverpool are confident that both their captain and star forward Mohamed Salah will sign new contracts, despite having less than six months remaining on their current deals.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Liverpool can keep hold of van Dijk, whose influence both on and off the pitch continues to be invaluable.
In other news, Liverpool’s stance on Omar Marmoush has been revealed.
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