Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has come below hearth for allegedly throwing his team-mates below the bus because the Reds proceed their worst run of type in years.
Arne Slott’s facet have now misplaced 4 straight within the Premier League and have solely gained one among their final seven video games in all competitions.
Their early season luck with late wins of their first 5 video games has utterly run out.
Liverpool presently sit in eighth place within the league with 5 wins and 4 losses, 10 factors behind leaders Arsenal.
Liverpool’s defensive struggles proceed
Protection has been a giant downside for Liverpool this season. The centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate stays the identical, however the full-back positions are continuously rotated.
Summer time signing Milos Kerkes replaces left-back Andrew Robertson from Bournemouth, however the right-back spot is shared with Dominik Szoboszlai, Conor Bradley and Jeremy Frimpong, none of whom have totally established their roles.
Because of this, there’s a lack of defensive cohesion, with Liverpool’s full-backs typically being compelled out of place, forcing Van Dijk and Konate to cowl large areas and leaving the ultimate line uncovered.
Kelkes, particularly, has endured a troublesome begin to life at Anfield regardless of promising performances for Bournemouth final season.
Van Dijk accused of throwing Milos Kerkes below the bus
The Liverpool captain was seen on quite a few events exhibiting apparent dissatisfaction with Kerkez, typically shouting directions throughout matches and generally making indignant gestures on the younger Hungarian participant.
In accordance with ESPN pundit Craig Burley, Van Dijk’s method is doing extra hurt than good. Burley mentioned on ESPN:
“You may see by wanting on the full-backs subsequent to them that Kerkes is certainly struggling, however I’ve mentioned it many instances that Van Dijk hasn’t helped him as captain.”
“He is throwing him below the bus a bit bit, gesticulating in entrance of the group. As a younger participant, that simply takes away your confidence. However there is not any doubt that he and (Ibrahima) Konate aren’t taking part in properly.”
Knowledge reveals how a lot Liverpool’s defensive energy has declined this season
The attention-opening criticism of Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s backline is now firmly borne out by elementary figures, revealing a dramatic and worrying decline within the membership’s defensive consistency in comparison with earlier seasons.
Liverpool’s defensive metrics are presently among the many worst within the high half of the Premier League, underscoring how far requirements have fallen this season.
| season | variety of matches performed | Variety of objectives conceded | Variety of objectives conceded per sport (GCPG) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 38 | 41 | 1.08 |
| 2025/26 (present) | 9 | 14 | 1.56 |
Liverpool’s GCPG has elevated by 44%, indicating a pointy regression in protection. The Reds have misplaced 4 straight within the Premier League with no clear sheet, their worst run in additional than a decade below their new supervisor.
Anticipated objectives (xGA) reveals flaws within the system
Anticipated objectives (xGA) knowledge confirms that Liverpool’s issues go far past dangerous luck or particular person errors. This season, the defensive system has turn out to be basically weak.
Liverpool’s xGA per match has elevated considerably. In latest title-winning seasons, this quantity hovered across the 1.0 mark. Their xGA has persistently exceeded that quantity this season, exhibiting they’re repeatedly giving their opponents extra high quality scoring alternatives.
As talked about earlier, the rotation and instability on the full-back place is mirrored in particular person defensive contributions.
Van Dijk remains to be a robust aerial drive (he wins aerial duels a excessive proportion of the time), however the variety of tackles and blocks per 90 minutes reveals that he’s uncovered extra typically.
Moreover, his profitable deal with proportion rating per 90 minutes is considerably decrease than in his peak season, suggesting that the line of defense in entrance of him is unable to successfully display the again 4.
Alternatively, so far as Milos Kerkes is anxious, the statistics reveal that the participant is struggling to adapt to a really demanding function.
His go success fee is decrease than that of his predecessor, and he’s dribbled previous extra typically than the common Liverpool full-back, confirming his troublesome begin and why he has turn out to be a goal for irritating opposition assaults and maybe even his personal captain.
