Virgil Van Dijk Hits Back At Wayne Rooney’s ‘lazy’ Criticism Of Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has called Wayne Rooney’s disapproval of him and Mohamed Salah this play “lazy” and has deed retired astatine “ridiculous takes” during Liverpool’s caller tally of bad form.

Rooney, talking connected his BBC podcast, had said location had been a deficiency of activity from nan Liverpool skipper and Salah this play and that their assemblage connection had not been right. From precocious September to precocious October, Liverpool mislaid six times successful 7 games, including astatine location to Manchester United and distant to Crystal Palace.

Van Dijk has responded to nan erstwhile United and England striker yet admitted immoderate disapproval does get to his teammates. The Liverpool skipper said of Rooney: “I didn’t perceive him past year. It doesn’t wounded me. Just to travel backmost to this peculiar player, evidently a legend, a large subordinate of nan crippled who inspired truthful many, I tin opportunity only affirmative things, but I consciousness that remark is conscionable a spot of a lazy criticism. It’s easy to blasted nan older players but he knows arsenic good arsenic everyone other that we do it together and effort to thief each different to get retired of this. There are truthful galore platforms nowadays that everyone tin opportunity immoderate they for illustration and it gets blown up.”

Wayne Rooney questioned Virgil van Dijk’s activity during his BBC podcast. Photograph: John Walton/PA

However nan 34-year-old did opportunity immoderate players tin beryllium affected by nan talk astir nan Premier League champions, who are 7 points down nan leaders, Arsenal. “What I person noticed complete nan past mates of weeks particularly is that location is simply a batch of sound that you person nary power complete and that we person to woody pinch arsenic a team,” he said. “Some of those takes are perfectly ridiculous. But you person to woody pinch that. It’s extracurricular sound that tin scope definite players, nan group. It’s astir sticking together.

“And erstwhile location are difficult moments, I effort to thief my teammates. I effort to put them successful beforehand of maine and want to make them execute arsenic successful nan champion imaginable style and past erstwhile things don’t spell good past that’s nan world we unrecorded successful and group mobility loads of stuff, particularly erstwhile you lose.”

Liverpool sewage retired of their results rut connected Saturday nighttime pinch a 2-0 location triumph against Aston Villa – successful which Salah scored his 250th extremity for nan nine – and Van Dijk highlighted really immoderate people’s tune had changed since nan losing tally started. He said: “I deliberation it’s a funny thing, isn’t it? Because past twelvemonth we didn’t perceive thing astir this, because evidently things were going well, and we were besides seen arsenic nan leaders, and this twelvemonth erstwhile things are not going arsenic good arsenic we want, past we’re not doing our occupation properly.

“So that’s nan life we live. We consciousness that responsibility. We want to lead by example. Obviously I tin only speak for myself successful this case, by nan way. I cognize I’m nan captain, I cognize that if we person not nan champion results aliases not awesome performances, past myself and nan head will decidedly ever beryllium questioned. That’s portion and parcel, you know.

“I’ve mentioned it aft erstwhile games, we person to instrumentality together, attraction connected nan task ahead, winning games, that’s nan only point we tin control. And it’s not easy to do that for everyone, but for maine I’m mature capable and I person a very unchangeable life that I will beryllium capable to do so.”