Danny Murphy has labelled Virgil van Dijk’s post-match calling out of ex-footballers as ‘strange’.
The Dutch defender hit back at his and his teammates’ critics following a generally difficult start to the 2022/23 campaign.
“It’s a strange one coming from him because for the majority of his time at Liverpool, everyone has spent minutes, if not hours, eulogising about what a wonderful player he is and rightly so,” the former Red spoke on talkSPORT.
“He is a Rolls Royce of a defender and everyone knows his quality. The standards he has set himself, he has fallen below. It is honest, truthful punditry, nothing more than that.
“He’s been a revelation at Liverpool, but when he plays poorly and is not at it then we will call it like anyone should.”
The Merseysiders find themselves six points off the top of the table after succumbing to three draws and a loss from the first six league games on offer.
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In Murphy’s defence, it has to be said that the colossal No.4 hasn’t been close to his peak at Liverpool all season, so criticism of the club and key players is more than warranted.
We can understand, of course, how painful or distracting it might be given that this squad has been playing at an extremely high level for the last five or so years, contesting three Champions League finals in amongst winning a host of silverware.
It’s possible that a hangover of sorts from the quadruple run last term is hampering our efforts this season, though a consistent solution needs to be found quickly in the break before our international stars head off for their respective non-domestic commitments.