Wayne Rooney expresses Virgil van Dijk concern after feud with Liverpool captain

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Wayne Rooney has expressed his worries over Virgil van Dijk's remarks about his team following Liverpool's 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. Arne Slot's squad suffered their sixth league defeat of the season, already two more than their total defeats in their Premier League title-winning campaign last year.

Speaking about Forest capitalizing on Liverpool's weaknesses, Rooney told Match of the Day: "Yeah, they did, and I think that's a concern when your captain is speaking like that about the players lacking fight and not winning second balls and winning the challenges.", reports the Liverpool Echo. "But if we look here at how Nottingham Forest prepared themselves against Liverpool... they allowed Liverpool to come onto them early on and they were sucking Liverpool into traps all afternoon." Rooney's concern comes after the former Manchester United and Everton star had a much-publicised feud with Van Dijk over comments he made about the Liverpool captain's start to the season.

Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak look dejected during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (Image: Molly Darlington/Getty Images) Rooney had questioned both Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah's leadership after they had signed new contracts at Anfield, leading to an awkward interview live on television when the former fired back at him after the Reds' win over Real Madrid. Slot's team had 74 per cent possession and managed 21 shots compared to Forest's 15.