Netherlands legend Ruud Gullit has criticised captain Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool's disappointing campaign
Virgil van Dijk has come in for criticism
Virgil van Dijk has come in for criticism (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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Netherlands legend Ruud Gullit has criticised captain Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool's disappointing campaign to date, insisting the skipper has allowed too many "strange errors" to creep into his game.
The Reds welcome Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday in sixth and could find themselves five points adrift of Manchester United in fourth by the time Pep Guardiola's men arrive on Merseyside, with Michael Carrick's rejuvenated Red Devils hosting Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday lunchtime.
Chelsea, who are one point above Liverpool in fifth, also travel to relegation-threatened Wolves on Saturday afternoon and the battle for the final Champions League places is heating up.
Gullit, whose decorated career saw him win two European Cups with AC Milan and the European Championship with the Dutch national side in 1998, has slammed current Oranje skipper Van Dijk for Liverpool's troubling term.
“I have been critical of Virgil van Dijk several times, because he’s the Liverpool captain,” Gullit toldGambling Insider.
“Put it this way, if there is an orchestra where the violinist is not performing well, I’m not going to scream at the violinist, I’m going to be pointing the finger at the director. He is in front of his performers and is responsible for when something goes wrong.“I rate Van Dijk very highly, but he has made a lot of mistakes this season, with a lot of strange errors like the handball against PSV Eindhoven and the miskick at Bournemouth. These are things that I’ve never seen before from him.“I really hope that Van Dijk sees and addresses these errors, knows that he has not been playing well, and can return to his best soon.”
Van Dijk is expected to start alongside Ibrahima Konate when title-chasing City visit Anfield this weekend.