Liverpool legend Steve Nicol criticized Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, and Florian Wirtz after the Reds suffered a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, saying defensive organization was chaotic
17:05, 25 Jan 2026
Virgil van Dijk has faced criticism for his performance on Saturday
Virgil van Dijk has faced criticism for his performance on Saturday(Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has slammed the display of four players following the Reds' loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.
The defending Premier League champions endured a 3-2 reverse against the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium this weekend, shipping a stoppage-time winner in a crushing blow. Arne Slot's men had fought back from a two-goal deficit to draw level in the second period courtesy of strikes from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Nevertheless, the Reds couldn't preserve their point and were undone by a final-minute effort from Bournemouth's Amine Adli amid a penalty box melee. Prior to the setback, Liverpool had maintained an unbeaten streak of 13 fixtures across all competitions.
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But the Reds had previously shared the spoils in their last five Premier League encounters and remain winless in the division since the new year began.
Nicol was scathing about Liverpool's showing against Bournemouth, singling out four particular players who drew his attention.
"I don't think I've ever seen Van Dijk have a worse game in a Liverpool jersey. He was involved in all three of the goals," Nicol said on ESPN.
Mohamed Salah also struggled against Bournemouth
Mohamed Salah also struggled against Bournemouth(Image: Getty Images)
"Anybody playing against Liverpool, all they need to do is put the ball in the box because it's chaos.
"Nobody's in charge, the goalkeeper's not in charge, Van Dijk's not in charge, nobody trusts each other, everybody's wondering where to be. It's just chaos.
"So you end up losing a goal like they did at the end because nobody takes charge.
"At the same time, you've got to look at the forward line. Mo Salah was awful today, Gakpo did nothing, and Florian Wirtz must have passed the ball to a Bournemouth player more than he did to a Liverpool player.
"When you have got so much of the ball, and you've got to look at the midfield of Liverpool and say they gave the front three the ball as much of the ball they possibly could have wished for, and they did nothing with it.
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"There was not one opportunity in this game that Liverpool created in open play where you're saying they should have scored or hit the target or something; there was nothing.
"The two goals came from set pieces, Szoboszlai [was] a free-kick, Van Dijk's [was] a corner.
"The only positive you can say is that the middle of the park gave the front players plenty of the ball, and they didn't do their job."