Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has come beneath criticism for allegedly throwing a teammate beneath the bus because the Reds endure one in every of their worst runs of kind in recent times.
Arne Slot’s facet have now misplaced 4 consecutive Premier League video games and gained simply one in every of their final seven matches throughout all competitions.
The early-season luck that noticed them scrape late victories of their first 5 video games has fully run out.
Liverpool at present sit eighth within the league desk, with 5 wins and 4 defeats, leaving them 10 factors behind leaders Arsenal.
Liverpool’s defensive struggles proceed
Defence has been a significant downside for Liverpool this season. Whereas the centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate has remained unchanged, the full-back positions have seen heavy rotation.
Summer time signing Milos Kerkez arrived from Bournemouth to exchange Andrew Robertson on the left, whereas the right-back slot has been shared between Dominik Szoboszlai, Conor Bradley, and Jeremie Frimpong, none of whom have absolutely cemented the function.
The end result has been a scarcity of defensive cohesion, with Liverpool’s full-backs usually caught out of place, forcing Van Dijk and Konate to cowl extensive areas and leaving the again line uncovered.
Kerkez, particularly, has endured a tough begin to life at Anfield regardless of his promising performances at Bournemouth final season.
Van Dijk slammed for throwing Milos Kerkez beneath the bus
The Liverpool captain has been noticed displaying seen frustration in the direction of Kerkez on a number of events, usually shouting directions and gesturing angrily on the younger Hungarian throughout matches.
In keeping with ESPN pundit Craig Burley, Van Dijk’s method is doing extra hurt than good. Talking on ESPN, Burley mentioned:
“You possibly can possibly have a look at the full-backs beside them and Kerkez has undoubtedly struggled, however I’ve talked about a number of occasions that Van Dijk will not be serving to him as a captain.”.
“He’s actually throwing him beneath the bus somewhat bit together with his gesticulating to him in entrance of the group. As a younger participant, it simply drains your confidence. However there isn’t a doubt himself and [Ibrahima] Konate haven’t performed properly.”
Information exhibits simply how far Liverpool’s defence has declined this season
The attention-test criticism of Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s backline is now firmly supported by the underlying numbers, which reveal a dramatic and worrying drop-off within the membership’s defensive solidity in comparison with earlier campaigns.
Liverpool’s defensive metrics are at present among the many worst within the Premier League’s high half, exposing simply how far their requirements have slipped this season.
| Season | Matches Performed | Targets Conceded | Targets Conceded Per Sport (GCPG) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 38 | 41 | 1.08 |
| 2025/26 (present) | 9 | 14 | 1.56 |
Liverpool’s GCPG has risen by 44%, indicating a pointy defensive regression. The Reds have additionally gone 4 consecutive Premier League defeats with out a clear sheet, their worst such run beneath a brand new supervisor in over a decade.
Anticipated Targets Towards (xGA) exposes systemic flaws
The Anticipated Targets Towards (xGA) knowledge confirms that Liverpool’s issues go far past unhealthy luck or particular person errors. Their defensive construction is essentially weaker this season.
Liverpool’s xGA per sport has climbed considerably. In a current title-winning season, this quantity hovered across the 1.0 mark. This season, their xGA has persistently been above that quantity, indicating they’re often permitting opponents to create higher-quality scoring alternatives.
The rotation and instability on the full-back positions, as talked about, are mirrored of their particular person defensive contributions.
Whereas Van Dijk stays an aerial powerhouse (successful a excessive proportion of aerial duels), a have a look at his Tackles and Blocks per 90 minutes exhibits he’s being uncovered extra continuously.
Moreover, his proportion rank for Tackles per 90 minutes is notably decrease than in his peak seasons, suggesting the defensive position forward of him is failing to display the again 4 successfully.
In the meantime, so far as Milos Kerkez is anxious, the stats reveal a participant struggling to regulate to a extremely demanding function.
His Cross Completion % is decrease than his predecessor, and he’s being dribbled previous extra usually than the Liverpool common for a full-back, confirming his tough begin and why he’s changing into a goal for annoyed opposition assaults and, allegedly, his personal captain.
