Credit: Imago

Jack Dawson

Sat 4 April 2026 16:00, UK

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Virgil van Dijk had another wretched Liverpool game on Saturday as his team were battered 4-0 by Manchester City and eliminated unceremoniously from the FA Cup.

Questions have been asked about the Reds captain’s quality all season after their awful title defence.

However, at the Etihad, he was exposed once again, as Erling Haaland ran Arne Slot’s side ragged to cruise into the semi-finals.

Van Dijk was at fault for the opener as he conceded a penalty, and things only went downhill from there.

Now, after Liverpool’s terrible defeat, more question marks are going to rise about the defender’s quality.

Virgil van Dijk struggles vs Man City

Against Man City, it was clear that van Dijk was out of his depth.

His defending for the penalty was awful as he hit Nico O’Reilly’s leg and was nowhere near the ball.

Even for Man City’s second, he had to do more to close down the cross in what was a crucial point in the game.

Things only got worse in the second half as he let Antoine Semenyo run in from behind to make it 3-0 before he lost Haaland inside the box to allow the striker to net his hat-trick.

According to Fotmob on 4 April, van Dijk was simply woeful. Overall, he failed to make a tackle, block or win a single ground duel.

His long balls also only had a 25 per cent accuracy rate and throughout, he only managed one recovery.

The foul from Virgil van Dijk that resulted in a penalty for Man City 🥅

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If a player is an elite, he will turn up in crucial games such as this and put in a wonderful performance, no matter how bad the team is.

However, not only did van Dijk fail to achieve this, but he was also arguably the worst player on the pitch and was the catalyst behind their downfall at the Etihad.

Therefore, it is no clear that the Reds captain is simply no longer an elite defender.

Will Liverpool look to sell van Dijk in the summer transfer window?

Football Insider has exclusively revealed that Liverpool will not look to sell van Dijk in the summer.

The club instead are set to allow the captain to see out the end of his contract at Anfield, which expires in 2027.

Van Dijk is still seen as a key part of the squad going into the next campaign as they look to bounce back from this terrible season.

However, it remains to be seen if his recent bad displays will change the minds of the Liverpool hierarchy.