Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has responded to Wayne Rooney's comments attributing the Anfield side's recent slump in form to a lack of leadership, labelling it as "lazy criticism". This comes after Liverpool, despite starting the 2025-26 campaign with five top-flight wins, experienced a dip in their performance.
Last season saw Liverpool clinch the Premier League title under manager Arne Slot in his debut campaign. However, this season has been less than stellar for the Reds. Following an impressive start with five consecutive victories, they have since fallen off pace. The team suffered a fourth consecutive league defeat at Brentford last week which sparked criticism from former England and Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney.
Rooney pointed fingers at Van Dijk and fellow team-mate Mohamed Salah for not having "really led that team this season", following their loss to Brentford. The Liverpool captain addressed Rooney’s comments and said why he was silent last year when we were winning.
Liverpool captain, Virgil van Dijk, said:
"I didn't hear him last year. It doesn't hurt me. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things but I feel that comment is just I would say it's a bit of a lazy criticism.
"It's easy to blame the other players but he knows we do it together, trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this. Last year when things go well you don't hear that at all. It is what it is. [Pundits] have to do that job. He has an opinion and we have to deal with it. There's no hard feelings. I don't take it personally."
Current standings and upcoming challenges
Despite these setbacks, Liverpool currently holds third place in the Premier League standings. They are seven points behind leaders Arsenal as they head into two crucial matches this week.
The first challenge will be hosting Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday. This is followed by an away game against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday. These games could potentially turn around their fortunes or further deepen their struggles depending upon how well they manage to perform under pressure.
While critics like Rooney may attribute Liverpool’s recent poor form to a lack of leadership from key players like Van Dijk and Salah, it remains clear that football is a collective sport where every player plays an integral role towards success or failure of any given match or campaign. As such, it will be interesting for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts alike to see how Liverpool responds both on and off field amidst these criticisms.
