Joe Cole wasn’t impressed with Virgil van Dijk’s ‘reaction’ to Bournemouth’s winner against Liverpool on Saturday, after Dango Ouattara “strolled past him”..
Liverpool were far from their best against bottom-placed Bournemouth, who easily defeated Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool struggled to create chances and were far too open at the back at the Vitality Stadium, fresh off a 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United.
And it was Van Dijk’s fault that Philip Billings scored in the first half, allowing Ouattara to breeze past him on the edge of the box to set up his teammate.
When the ball hit the back of the net, Van Dijk appeared to abandon his pursuit of the Bournemouth player, throwing his arms up in frustration.
Cole was unimpressed with Van Dijk’s defending and reaction, stating that he expected more from the captain.
“It’s a simple pass over top,” he told BT Sport. Now that he’s gotten back in and turned on, he should be good to go. When has Van Dijk ever just let someone walk past him in that situation? “[He] turns off,” the pundit said.
“Observe the reaction. That’s not what you want for your captain.”
Speaking post-match, Klopp admitted Bournemouth’s goal “should probably have been defendable”.
“We can’t go through it completely, we can’t pass the ball, we can’t cover the space,” Klopp said.
“I don’t know 100% anymore how the positioning was, I need to watch it back.
Finally, a ball comes from the outside into the inside, and it should be defendable as well, but I have to keep an eye on it.”
When speaking at halftime, Peter Crouch and Steve McManaman were equally critical of the goal.
“It was disappointing,” Crouch said, according to BT Sport..
“Van Dijk appears to give up, Trent Alexander-Arnold switches off, and Bournemouth has it far too easy.”
“All the bad habits have returned, and they are very lethargic,” McManaman added. They have been terrible, really, really poor, and they need to liven up with this high line they keep doing, gambling to play offside..
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