Following the 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, serious questions are being asked about Liverpool, who are having a see-saw of a season.
Injuries certainly haven’t helped the Reds, but there are also some players who haven’t hit the heights of previous years, like Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutch centre-back has widely been considered one of the best in his position over the past few years, as Liverpool have enjoyed a lot of success thanks to his dominating presence in Jürgen Klopp’s team.
However, his form this season has been far more fragile, with him appearing some way off his best, which isn’t what the Netherlands national team will want right before a World Cup.
Whether it’s a confidence problem or simply fatigue, that remains to be seen, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed in his home country, where former goalkeeper Sander Westerveld commented on the Liverpool star.
He said to De Telegraaf, relayed by Soccer News: “They concede way too many goals. Virgil van Dijk can also be blamed for that. He no longer plays as convincingly as usual. Actually, Virgil performed above expectations last season – after that serious knee injury. Because of all the injuries to his teammates, Virgil almost never plays with the same partner and that doesn’t help either.
“But he was known for almost always playing well. Now, it’s just not the case in many matches and he makes quite a few mistakes left and right. I personally think this is his worst season at Liverpool. It’s also not the case that he has forgotten it, has he? He played Erling Haaland out of the game last week.”
Liverpool’s next game comes in the Champions League, as they prepare to face Ajax in the Netherlands, as the Reds currently sit second of their group behind leaders Napoli.
