Until recently, Virgil van Dijk had been immune to the drop in standards at Liverpool this season.
The Dutchman has been consistently brilliant since his arrival at Anfield seven years ago and despite others around him looking shellshocked, Van Dijk had continued to look the part.
But as his teammates have failed to address their own personal slides into mediocrity, the Liverpool captain has finally begun to follow suit.
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Florian Wirtz pictured during Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at Anfield.
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Van Dijk made a monumental error during the Redsâ Champions League humiliation against PSV Eindhoven last week and looked like a mere mortal once again in Wednesdayâs draw with Sunderland.
The 34-year-old took a large slice of responsibility for Chemsdine Talbiâs opening goal of the game, and according to former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol, that was not the only thing Van Dijk got wrong on another difficult evening at Anfield.
Virgil van Dijk âgot everything wrongâ against Sunderland
Usually one to keep standards so high, it has been strange to see Van Dijk fall foul of that recently. His slack ball to Alexis Mac Allister on Wednesday night was simply not good enough and Talbi punished it.
But it was not only the poor pass which upset Nicol, but the manner in which Van Dijk tried to atone for his error.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Sunderland at Anfield
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âIâve actually not criticised Van Dijk that much this season but tonight, there is absolutely no question he has to bear a whole lot of responsibility, not just for the goal,â the Liverpool legend said on ESPN FC.
âWhat he did wrong, he gives the ball away, tries to play in Mac Allister who isnât reading the pass. Okay, so what do you do when you make a mistake? You try to make up for it. In trying to make up for it he could have stepped out and closed the ball because he had Kerkez who had already come in beside him, so he didnât need to back off. But he did.
âWhen he sees Talbi going to strike the ball he doesnât step forward, he just turns sideways. What happened to make yourself big, try and get in front of the ball? He got absolutely everything wrong.â
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âAnd then what we saw at the end in my opinion is down to your captain. If you want to go forward and win the game thatâs fine, but the first thing youâve got to do is make sure that things at the back are sorted before you do it. He just sauntered up, didnât even look. Heâs there to organise and set the example and he absolutely didnât do that tonight.â
Van Dijk form is a worry for Liverpool
Throughout much of the season, criticism regarding Liverpoolâs defence has almost always been centred around the performances of Ibrahima Konate.
While that has been justified, there are now question marks starting to creep in over Van Dijk as well.
You can just about get away with one centre-back not performing to his usual standard, but when both begin to drop off, that is when you start to really worry.
For Van Dijk, the problem feels to be one born more out of frustration than anything else. It was faintly ridiculous to see him march up the field â and stay there â in the dying seconds of Wednesdayâs game, and he had the air of a man who has simply had enough.
Liverpool rely on Van Dijk to be their rock and the back and their leader in tough moments. He has so often been that â and will be again â but Wednesday certainly was not his finest hour.
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