Steve Nicol was highly critical of Virgil van Dijk for two moments in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Sunderland on Wednesday night.
The visitors took the lead midway through the second half with a Chemsdine Talbi goal, with Jamie Carragher calling out the Reds captain for turning his back on the ball as the Moroccan winger struck, having initially gifted him possession with a slack pass out from defence.
After the home side had drawn level, they were indebted to Federico Chiesa for producing a heroic block to deny what looked like being a stoppage-time winner for Wilson Isidor, who had half a pitch of empty grass into which to run as LFC threw everybody forward.
Nicol slams Van Dijk for failing to set an example last night
In his post-match analysis for ESPN FC, Nicol turned on Van Dijk over his defending for the Sunderland goal, and for leaving Liverpool so exposed in added time as they went in search of a last-gasp winner.
The former Reds right-back said of the captain: “When he sees Talbi going to strike the ball, he doesn’t step forward; he just turns sideways. What happened to make yourself big, try and get in front of the ball? He got absolutely everything wrong.
Not the best of nights for Van Dijk at Anfield
Van Dijk committed two big errors in the lead-up to Talbi’s goal by giving away the ball so cheaply and then failing to close down the Sunderland winger, who may have had some fortune with a deflection off the Liverpool captain but shouldn’t have had the opportunity to shoot in the first place.
As for what happened in stoppage time, we understand the Reds’ number 4 going up for a corner kick, given the team’s need for a goal and his history of scoring late winners from such situations (e.g. Everton on his debut, Atletico Madrid earlier this season).
Even after two attempted clearances from the Black Cats, though, Chiesa (a forward) was the only outfield LFC player who seemed remotely aware that Isidor was through on goal if Robin Roefs picked him out, which he did.
Could Van Dijk have dropped deeper after the initial corner was cleared and left Liverpool’s midfielders and attackers in the penalty area to try and score? It’s something which may well come up in the post-match debrief at the AXA Training Centre.
Those moments weren’t the Dutchman’s finest, for sure, although he did win a few important headers for his team throughout the course of the game, coming out on top in eight of his 10 duels (Sofascore).
With the Reds needing a positive response against Leeds on Saturday, hopefully the skipper can set the tone for his side with a dominant and composed performance at Elland Road.