Virgil van Dijk and Wayne Rooney in awkward live TV interview after Liverpool row

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Daily Express or go back to LFC Live.

22:31, Tue, Nov 4, 2025 Updated: 23:05, Tue, Nov 4, 2025 Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk appeared on TV alongside Wayne Rooney on Tuesday (Image: Amazon Prime)Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk came face-to-face with Manchester United hero Wayne Rooney in an awkward television interview after the Merseyside giants defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League. And the home side would have won by a bigger margin had it not been for the efforts of Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, who made a string of fine saves.Following Liverpool’s defeat against Brentford last month, Rooney questioned Van Dijk’s body language and explained: “This is a time when the manager and the leaders in the team need to figure it out very quickly.“Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they've signed new deals - but I don't think they have really led the team this season.”Van Dijk snapped back at Rooney after Liverpool's 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday as he branded the 40-year-old's comments as "lazy".And the Liverpool defender spoke to Amazon Prime immediately after his side's win against Madrid, with some of Rooney’s recent comments being brought up during the discussion.Liverpool defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday (Image: Getty)The Netherlands international explained: “It's easy to say now [it's going well] because we won twice in a row.

I think it's very important to put things into perspective, keep your head down, working and get out the situation, because our quality is not the issue we have.“It will always be made bigger, but I think it's important that top players - those who have played at the top - who have also dealt with a lot of difficult moments, put things into perspective as well.“Of course [the criticism has been fair], if you are losing games as a Liverpool player for four or five in a row, it's a fair criticism.“That's fairly normal in that sense, but I think it's over the top at times as well. But that's because we live in a world with so many platforms - and so many people can say stuff.”Rooney then laughed as he said: “I'm not saying anything.

I think I spurred them on and put them on a winning streak."And after Rooney explained his version of events, Van Dijk told the ex-United forward: “I think if you watch games, you'd see I take responsibility. But that is my personal opinion.” Read next Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you.