Virgil van Dijk has to pay for it after a difficult performance against Bournemouth (1-0 loss). The captain of Liverpool has been criticized by former defender Jason Cundy, for example for his role in Philip Billing’s goal against. “Personally, I think he is overrated,” said 53-year-old Cundy, who played for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, among others, on radio station talkSPORT.
Liverpool is having an extremely difficult season, but seemed to break that last week with the historic 7-0 victory over arch rivals Manchester United. On Saturday it went wrong again against Bournemouth. Van Dijk failed to keep up with Dango Ouattara’s acceleration in the 28th minute, after which the latter’s cross was tapped in by Billing. Liverpool failed to recover in the remainder of the game, also because Mohamed Salah missed a penalty.
Three times is a charm for ???????????????????????? ?? Billing ticks in close up ???? ?? https://t.co/XyO3GFIJx5#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/W2z2U2SEz6
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) March 11, 2023
Van Dijk is known as one of the best defenders in the world and was recently included in the team with the best players of last year at the FIFA awards. Cundy thinks that Van Dijk is made great by ‘love from the media’. “There’s no doubt he’s a brilliant central defender, but he makes too many mistakes, mistakes that I think go unnoticed.”
“I think Van Dijk has had 18 good months and I know the injury has had an impact after that.” The the Dutch international tore off his anterior cruciate ligament on November 17, 2020 and returned after ten months of rehabilitation. “Saturday’s goal has nothing to do with that injury,” says Cundy. “As soon as Dango Ouattara accelerates and gets away from Van Dijk, he just seems to stop. He misjudges the situation.”
Cundy does call Van Dijk ‘a brilliant defender’, but nuances the image that he believes exists. “People compare Van Dijk to legends like John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, but he’s not in the same category. He’s not even allowed to tie their shoelaces.”
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 27 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 66 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 27 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 61 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 50 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 27 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 48 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 25 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 19 | 44 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 42 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 39 |
| 8 | Fulham | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 39 |
| 9 | Brentford | 25 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 38 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 37 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | -7 | 35 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | -12 | 27 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton W. | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | -17 | 27 |
| 14 | Nottingham Forest | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -26 | 26 |
| 15 | Everton | 27 | 6 | 7 | 14 | -18 | 25 |
| 16 | Leicester City | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | -9 | 24 |
| 17 | West Ham United | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | -10 | 24 |
| 18 | AFC Bournemouth | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | -26 | 24 |
| 19 | Leeds United | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -11 | 23 |
| 20 | Southampton | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | -21 | 22 |