In defense of Virgil van Dijk: Why critics have been too eager to pile in on Liverpool skipper

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Virgil van Dijk has said Liverpool's title hopes are not dead at this stage of the season despite the significant gap to Arsenal (Image: Getty Images) “He sets the bar at 10 out of 10 and when he has a nine out of 10 [performance], he sometimes gets criticised as well,” the Liverpool head coach told Sky Sports. Maybe he should see it as a compliment, because that's where he set the bar from.” Only in September, Jamie Carragher gave a glowing verdict of Van Dijk’s performances, and insisted he is among the club’s all-time greats along with Steven Gerrard, Sir Kenny Dalglish and John Barnes.

Most pundits overlook how disjointed Liverpool’s team has been this season. It has affected all of last season’s stars: Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, Konate — why would Van Dijk be any different?

It has been evident for some time that Van Dijk has found the Hungarian’s start to life at Liverpool exasperating, and it’s no surprise that his performances improved when Andy Robertson returned to the side recently. At the bottom of his list of concerns will be Van Dijk’s displays.