Danny Murphy will have ruffled a few feathers with his defence of FSG and the level of backing Jurgen Klopp received in the summer, though perhaps his latest comments on Virgil van Dijk will prove less divisive.
The former Red suggested the Dutchman, whilst remaining ‘a terrific player’, was not playing at the level fans have come to expect from the colossal No.4 – possibly due to him still carrying an injury.
“Virgil looks like maybe he’s playing with something or protecting himself a little bit because he’s not what he was,” the Englishman told talkSPORT. “He’s still a terrific player but he’s not at the level we were talking about two seasons ago.”
The 31-year-old was at fault for a penalty incurred during the 2-2 draw with Fulham in the Merseysiders’ opening league clash and has at times struggled to deliver the kind of world-beating performances that separate him from much (if not all) of the globe’s top centre-backs.
READ MORE: Danny Murphy sends pointed message to FSG-out brigade over Liverpool’s summer transfers
The good news is that it’s not a concern endemic to the defender specifically, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho, to list two examples, clearly off their game this term, which suggests that Van Dijk can most certainly rediscover his best level.
Indeed, the pair were guilty of lacklustre defending for Napoli’s lead-doubling goal in the opening half-hour of action at the Stadio Armando Diego Maradona as Luciano Spalletti’s men tore Jurgen Klopp’s men apart in the Champions League.
If ever there was a game to act as a catalyst for an improved mentality going into the rest of the season, fans will be keeping their fingers crossed in the hope that it will be our humiliation in Italy.
#Ep58 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Rating Liverpool’s UCL group, making a new signing… & more!