Virgil van Dijk was arguably Liverpool’s worst player during another diabolical Premier League performance on Saturday.
The Reds made it five games without a league win in the worst possible fashion as they conceded with virtually the last kick of the game against Bournemouth.
The manner of the goal was all too predictable, with Liverpool failing to deal with a long throw into the box as the seconds ticked down. Amine Adli was more alive than any Reds player and curled home to give Arne Slot‘s team exactly what they deserved.
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Who was Liverpool’s worst player as they fell to a pathetic loss against Bournemouth?
Mohamed Salah chases the ball during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
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For Van Dijk, the reaction was to complain to the referee about a non-existent foul. It mirrored his response to Bournemouth’s opening goal of the game – one which he handily helped to create – as he looked around with his arms outstretched.
This has sadly become a theme of Van Dijk at Liverpool this season, with his casual demeanour becoming a source of frustration for supporters. The decision not to simply kick a long ball out of play in the build-up to Evanilson’s goal was directly to blame for Liverpool going behind and yet, after the game, both the Reds’ captain and his head coach tried to hold something else responsible.
Arne Slot laughably lets Virgil van Dijk off the hook
Van Dijk has been a supreme player for Liverpool and even if he has dropped off to a degree this season, he has still been a level above many of his teammates.
Nevertheless, he has had the odd moment of complete abjectness. Saturday brought one of those. All the Dutchman had to do was get a little more on Marco Senesi’s punt forward. Only he will know what he was trying to do in weakly diverting the ball to Alex Scott instead.
Bournemouth v Liverpool - Premier League
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But according to Slot, it was not Van Dijk who was to blame, not at all. Instead, the head coach told his post-match press conference that the wind was to be held accountable.
“I don’t think it’s completely fair to Virgil to blame him for the first goal,” Slot said. “You could see throughout the game how much impact the wind had on certain balls”
“The first goal, I think it was a difficult ball to judge during the circumstances – the wind was very tricky,” Van Dijk himself said. “I think you saw it especially when we played long balls on their side, it was very difficult to judge.”
Liverpool lose. What went wrong at Bournemouth?
Virgil van Dijk passes the ball during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium (Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC
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You can get away with that kind of error once, but Van Dijk has displayed a sloppy side to his game which has been evident for months now. This felt like a symptom of that approach. With the team struggling so badly in reacting to setbacks, you just cannot give the opposition a head-start like this.
Slot must hold his players accountable
Given everything Van Dijk had achieved with Liverpool before he arrived at the club, you can understand Slot giving his countryman such deference.
However, there comes a point when the head coach has to hold his captain accountable.
Liverpool have been atrocious for much of this season, with no leadership at all visible on the pitch. At some stage questions need to be asked of Van Dijk about why that is.
They firstly need to come from Slot, but if he is willing to accept such sloppy play and blame it on something as ridiculous as the wind, then it seems unlikely he is going to take Van Dijk to task.
Supporters know that Van Dijk can give so much more than he currently is doing, but it sometimes feels that when Liverpool are drifting through games he goes into his shell as much as anyone. That needs to stop, starting with coming out and taking responsibility for some awful in-game decisions.
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