FORMER Anfield star Steve Nicol says Virgil van Dijk is to blame for Liverpool’s nightmare start.
Nicol, a five-time League winner with the Merseyside club, believes the Dutchman has to start taking responsibility and live up to his reputation.
Enraged James Milner publicly lambasted the defender for standing with his hands behind his back rather than attempting to close down Jadon Sancho ahead of United’s opener in the Reds’ shock 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
Footage appeared to show Milner yelling: “You go f***ing out to him.”
Milner himself had already been sat down by Sancho’s drag back, to set up the golden chance.
Despite this, Nicol stands by Milner and feels he was absolutely right to take van Dijk to task.
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ESPN pundit Nicol said: “What happened against United shows you where Liverpool are this season.
“The performance against City in the Community Shield gave everybody a false sense of security.
“But from that final whistle in Leicester to the end of the game on Monday night Liverpool have had an absolute shocker.
“They haven’t been a unit from back, middle to front.
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“I am going to pick on van Dijk here.
“This is a guy we lauded as the best centre back on the planet – and he was.
“Not only with the way he was playing but with the way he organised his defence.
“The way he kept that line together, so that the back line was as one, it was a unit.
“But all of that has completely disappeared.
“Van Dijk personally is not playing well.
“Defending is all about your starting position. He is getting that wrong.
“It’s all about leadership – and he is not leading anybody.
“That backline was absolutely a shambles, everytime United got the ball and were running at them. It was all over the place.
“In my opinion that is down to Van Dijk because that is his job, not just to play that to lead.”
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Before losing to United, Liverpool suffered draws to Fulham and Crystal Palace.
They now face must-win clashes against Bournemouth and Newcastle before taking on arch rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
