Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid: Match Verdict
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk didn’t hold back after Wayne Rooney questioned his form and leadership.
The Manchester United legend has previously gone on record to criticise the 34-year-old after Liverpool’s poor run of form. Until last weekend’s win against Aston Villa, the Reds had lost six of their last seven games.
Rooney, 40, said that van Dijk needed to be tougher on teammates who were underperforming, highlighting winger Mo Salah as someone who needed to take things up a gear.
Yesterday evening (Tuesday, November 4), Liverpool answered their critics with a 1-0 win in the Champions League against Real Madrid. Alexis Mac Allister was the difference maker for the home side, finding the back of the net in the 61st minute in a game that Liverpool generally dominated, despite Madrid having more possession.
Speaking to Amazon Prime Video after the game - where Rooney was one of the pundits - van Dijk made his thoughts abundantly clear.
He said: “In a world of chaos we have to stay calm and keep the perspective of things. There is so much football to be played, so many twists and turns that can happen.
“I think it's very important to put things into perspective, keep your head down, working and get out the situation, because our quality is not the issue we have. It will always be made bigger, but I think it's important that top players, those who have played at the top - who have also dealt with a lot of difficult moments - put things into perspective, as well.
“Of course [the criticism was fair], if you are losing games as a Liverpool player, for four or five in a row, then it's a fair criticism. That's fairly normal in that sense, but I think it's over the top at times as well.
“But that's because we live in a world with so many platforms and so many people can say stuff.”
Laughing, Rooney replied: “I'm not saying anything - I think I've spurred them on and put them on a winning streak.”
Van Dijk added: “I think if you watch games, you'd see I take responsibility.”
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