Garth Crooks has claimed only one Liverpool player turned up during the Reds’ 1-1 draw with Luton Town on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side needed a stoppage time Luis Diaz header to avoid defeat at Kenilworth Road following Tahith Chong’s strike 10 minutes from time.
Despite the disappointing result Crooks has named Virgil van Dijk in his team of the week with the Netherlands international at his dominant best at central defence against the Hatters.
“The only Liverpool player who brought his A-game to Kenilworth Road was Virgil van Dijk,” Crooks told BBC Sport. “What a poor show this was by the six-time European champions.
“Luton, on the other hand, showed a lot of guts with a spirited performance. They defended resolutely and manager Rob Edwards and his coaching staff had clearly spent some time preparing his team for this fixture. It nearly paid off.”
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Van Dijk has looked back to his best this term. The Dutchman is yet to be dribbled past in the Premier League this season and has won 80% of his duels during the current campaign.
Despite the skippers promising showings, dropping points to newly promoted sides simply isn’t good enough if we’re wanting to challenge for the Premier League title.
We understand that you cannot win every single game but those are the sort of fixtures where three points are a must.
Despite failing to win the game we remain just three points behind league leaders Manchester City ahead of the visit of Brentford to Anfield at the weekend.
Before we return to Premier League action, though, we travel to France on Thursday to face Toulouse in the Europa League.
If Klopp’s side can avoid defeat against the Ligue 1 outfit their passage through to the knockout stages will be all but confirmed.