Virgil van Dijk's post-match interview after Liverpool's 2-0 Premier League defeat to Everton has been slammed by former Toffees striker Wayne Rooney.
The Reds suffered a huge blow to their title hopes with their first Merseyside derby defeat at Goodison Park since 2010 thanks to goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Jurgen Klopp's side are now three points behind league leaders Arsenal knowing they will drop to third if Manchester City beat Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday night.
Everything that could have gone wrong for Liverpool went wrong and the Reds were far from their usual best. It is now three defeats in their last five games, leaving Klopp's final season in charge facing a troubling end.
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After the derby defeat, Van Dijk admitted that every player has to look at themselves in the mirror. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "Listen, very disappointed in so many ways and I think everyone has to look at themselves in the mirror and look at their performances and if they really gave everything and do they really want to win the league.
"We are still fighting and still have games after tonight, but if we play like we did overall in the game like today, not winning challenges and giving the ref an opportunity to give free-kicks like he did many times, we have no chance to win the title. It’s a tough one and obviously we have to do much better against a side who is fighting against relegation.
"We have to focus on the 12:30 kick-off again."
Van Dijk's reference to Saturday's lunchtime trip to West Ham left Rooney with the need to address the remark. Speaking as a pundit alongside Jamie Carragher and Daniel Sturridge, he said: "I think the worrying thing there - and I think it's happened a lot throughout the season as well. He's the captain and he's talking about Liverpool getting outfought but again we're hearing about 12:30 kick-offs after he's just lost a derby.
"That Liverpool team should be wanting to be on the pitch tomorrow morning to get the next game going. When you lose a game, especially a derby game, you want the next game to come quick.
"We've heard it so many times this season with Liverpool about 12:30 kick-offs. Get on with it! That's part of your job! Get on with it and you should be ready to play."
