Liverpool’s Premier League victory tour got off to a bad start with the Reds losing 3-1 away to Chelsea.

Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring for the west London side in the first five minutes as a comical piece of defending in the second-half from Liverpool led to Jarell Quansah putting the ball in his own net against Chelsea.

Although Liverpool fans were impressed with Wataru Endo’s performance, the same could not be said for Virgil van Dijk, who endured a difficult game at Stamford Bridge despite finding the back of the net in the final five minutes of the match.

And Van Dijk was slammed by pundit Andy Townsend after one moment in the second-half against Enzo Maresca’s side.

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Speaking on Premier League Productions, Townsend was critical of Van Dijk’s ‘poor’ defending as Chelsea made it 2-0 against Liverpool, with the Dutch international at fault for Quansah’s own goal.

Townsend said on Chelsea’s second goal: “Brilliant from Cole Palmer, who does really well to get past Tsimikas.

It’s just a mess [in the goalmouth], there’s no foul in there, and Virgil van Dijk, of all people, has to take responsibility for that, it’s a poor clearance.”

With Frank Leboeuf slamming Van Dijk for his performance again West Ham, the Liverpool captain’s form has come under the microscope in recent weeks, with the defender clearly not at his best having played so much this season for the Reds.

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Yet with the end of the campaign finally in sight, Van Dijk will be ready for a long summer off with no international tournaments being held, with the defender set to be one of many Liverpool players who benefit from the off-season.

With Arne Slot making six changes to the starting XI having won the Premier League title last week, it’s clear that a number of players in the Liverpool squad are now just waiting for the season to end and for the summer break to begin.

It’s been a long season for Liverpool with Slot making minimal changes to his favoured starting XI, with a lack of injuries allowing the Dutch manager to name a strong team in virtually every match this season in all competitions.

Yet performances from some players have started to drop off in recent weeks, and the likes of Van Dijk will now just want the season to be over, with a long summer off finally in store for the squad with no international obligations.


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