Liverpool finally got a win in the Premier League after four losses in a row.
The Reds have been under heavy fire in recent weeks due to their performances, with many of their top stars being criticised for failing to add what everyone knows they can.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are two in particular who have taken the brunt of it, with many believing that it looks like they have almost stopped trying.
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Wayne Rooney was one of those who pointed this out ahead of their game against Aston Villa, but the pair proved him to be very wrong after their performance.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's second goal with Virgil van Dijk during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Liverpool FC and Atletico de Madrid at Anfield
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Wayne Rooney proved wrong
The criticism for many of Liverpool’s players is perhaps fair given how poor they have been, although sometimes they need to be cut a little bit of slack.
Rooney for example, believed that van Dijk and Salah looked like they had almost given up, with their body language something that should be a concern according to the former Man United player.
“Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season,” he said on The Wayne Rooney Show before Liverpool played Villa.
“I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else.
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“I might be wrong on this, but if I was a Liverpool fan or the manager, that would be a big concern for me.”
It is a good job he prefaced that he might be wrong as he very much was, with both these players having a much better game against Aston Villa.
Van Dijk led by example from the back and played a big role in keeping a clean sheet, while Salah looked a little bit more like himself in attack, even getting a goal in the process.
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Reds fans will be hoping that the two, as well as the rest of the team, can now really kick on and get their season back on track, something they can only do if they maintain their high standards.
Virgil van Dijk responds to Wayne Rooney
After Liverpool’s win, van Dijk was asked about Rooney’s comments given that he had just stepped up when his team needed it.
In classic captain style, the Dutchman handled it calmly, insisting that the ex-Man United player’s words were ‘lazy’ and that they will not affect him one bit.
“I didn’t hear him last year, but it doesn’t hurt me,” he said on Sky Sports post-game.
“Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things, but I feel that comment is just a bit of a lazy criticism.
“It’s easy to blame the older players but he knows as well as everyone else that we do it together and try to help each other to get out of this. There are so many platforms nowadays that everyone can say whatever they like and it gets blown up.
“What I have noticed over the last couple of weeks especially is that there is a lot of noise that you have no control over and that we have to deal with as a team.”