🔗 Share this article A Diminished Presence of His Dominant Stature - Van Dijk Grapples With Waning Influence The intense attention that has fallen upon one world-class Liverpool icon turned to another on Anfield's most recent desperate night. The Egyptian forward has faced examination for his subpar performances this season - and was relegated to the bench for the consecutive Premier League game as Sunderland came to town on Wednesday. But it was skipper Virgil van Dijk, a unmatched defensive rock as Liverpool have secured the complete set of top honors, whose dip in performance became the focus during the draw. The Seasoned Stars and New Deals Van Dijk, 34, and Salah, 33, both inked high-value two-year deals in the summer, with barely a Liverpool question asked at the notion of securing the futures to a experienced stars much nearer to the end of their careers than the start. Truly, it was a moment of optimism - but now there is no escaping the brutal reality that standards have dropped worryingly for both. Backline Issues and Summer Spending Liverpool have been exposed in defence ever since manager Arne Slot and the club's transfer committee embarked on a £450m summer refit that has still to demonstrate anything like value for money. At the same time, Van Dijk has started to lose the air of invincibility he has carried since his £75m switch from Southampton in January 2018. Van Dijk has not been helped by center-back colleague Ibrahima Konate's loss of form, along with Milos Kerkez not finding his feet at left-back. But the esteemed defender has also fought his own battles, as demonstrated by his panic-stricken handball that conceded a penalty in the heavy Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield. A Moment That Encapsulated The Problem It was captured in the 67th minute on Wednesday when Chemsdine Talbi gave Sunderland a deserved lead, Van Dijk giving the ball away before retreating and turning away on a 25-yard shot that struck him and floated out of the reach of goalkeeper Alisson. For a defender of such undoubted greatness, Van Dijk has an curious trait of turning away on the ball, sometimes to Liverpool's disadvantage. Bad luck at the finale, yes, but it was a situation Van Dijk courted with his atypical failure to take charge, Sunderland's Talbi taking advantage. "Van Dijk gives the ball away and then he just retreats. It's the mistake. He needs to go to the ball. Him not making the decision means that no one else knows what to do." "Virgil Van Dijk last season was impeccable. Every game he was imperious, but right now he's slipping up and hesitating." The Numbers and A Lack of Command As with Salah, a player of Van Dijk's pedigree must not be dismissed after claiming two Premier Leagues, the Champions League, the FA Cup and two EFL Cups in a stellar Liverpool career. He has, though, looked a pale imitation of his usual dominant persona this season, with the lowest recovery numbers per game during his Liverpool career, while defensive actions are also down on last season. And, while leadership should not be Van Dijk's preserve alone in a Liverpool team packed with experience, it was absent here. No-one was rousing a team that once again looked bewildered to seize the initiative by the scruff of the neck. Van Dijk's difficult night, which ended with him being used as the emergency option of acting as an emergency striker, was symptomatic of a horribly mediocre Liverpool performance - which made Sunday's win at West Ham seem like the outlier rather than the norm. Liverpool Without Ideas Slot kept faith with the side that stopped a run of nine losses in 12 games at London Stadium, Salah once more starting on the sidelines. The Egyptian came on at the start of the second half as the Kop pinned hopes on him for inspiration. It was not forthcoming, with £125m Alexander Isak also ineffective after scoring his first with his first league goal for Liverpool on Sunday. Slot would have been under even more pressure had Florian Wirtz's 81st-minute shot not deflected in off Nordi Mukiele to set up what Liverpool hoped would be a thrilling finale. Stoppage-time tension came - but at the other end. Liverpool were only spared embarrassment in stoppage time when Federico Chiesa's superb tracking back allowed him to turn Sunderland substitute Wilson Isidor's shot off the line after he had rounded keeper Alisson. Praise Deserved and Looking Ahead Slot and his underperforming defending champions ultimately had to take a point knowing it could have been worse, with Alisson blessed to turn Trai Hume's shot onto the bar in the first half before Omar Alderete headed against the post after the interval. Liverpool were slow, labored and short on invention. Even the customary late surge after the equaliser carried little conviction. Showings like this are the reason their defense of their crown has crumbled. But significant praise for the Reds' struggles on Wednesday must be given to Sunderland, who are being seeing the results for a summer of notable ambition in the transfer market, coupled with the excellent coaching of Regis le Bris. The Black Cats were proactive, self-believing and threatening. Sunderland are now sixth in the Premier League with 23 points. It is indicative of the manner in which they have adapted to life in the Premier League that they will be unhappy they left Anfield without adding two more to their tally. For Slot and Liverpool, it is back to the drawing board.
The intense attention that has fallen upon one world-class Liverpool icon turned to another on Anfield's most recent desperate night. The Egyptian forward has faced examination for his subpar performances this season - and was relegated to the bench for the consecutive Premier League game as Sunderland came to town on Wednesday. But it was skipper Virgil van Dijk, a unmatched defensive rock as Liverpool have secured the complete set of top honors, whose dip in performance became the focus during the draw. The Seasoned Stars and New Deals Van Dijk, 34, and Salah, 33, both inked high-value two-year deals in the summer, with barely a Liverpool question asked at the notion of securing the futures to a experienced stars much nearer to the end of their careers than the start. Truly, it was a moment of optimism - but now there is no escaping the brutal reality that standards have dropped worryingly for both. Backline Issues and Summer Spending Liverpool have been exposed in defence ever since manager Arne Slot and the club's transfer committee embarked on a £450m summer refit that has still to demonstrate anything like value for money. At the same time, Van Dijk has started to lose the air of invincibility he has carried since his £75m switch from Southampton in January 2018. Van Dijk has not been helped by center-back colleague Ibrahima Konate's loss of form, along with Milos Kerkez not finding his feet at left-back. But the esteemed defender has also fought his own battles, as demonstrated by his panic-stricken handball that conceded a penalty in the heavy Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield. A Moment That Encapsulated The Problem It was captured in the 67th minute on Wednesday when Chemsdine Talbi gave Sunderland a deserved lead, Van Dijk giving the ball away before retreating and turning away on a 25-yard shot that struck him and floated out of the reach of goalkeeper Alisson. For a defender of such undoubted greatness, Van Dijk has an curious trait of turning away on the ball, sometimes to Liverpool's disadvantage. Bad luck at the finale, yes, but it was a situation Van Dijk courted with his atypical failure to take charge, Sunderland's Talbi taking advantage. "Van Dijk gives the ball away and then he just retreats. It's the mistake. He needs to go to the ball. Him not making the decision means that no one else knows what to do." "Virgil Van Dijk last season was impeccable. Every game he was imperious, but right now he's slipping up and hesitating." The Numbers and A Lack of Command As with Salah, a player of Van Dijk's pedigree must not be dismissed after claiming two Premier Leagues, the Champions League, the FA Cup and two EFL Cups in a stellar Liverpool career. He has, though, looked a pale imitation of his usual dominant persona this season, with the lowest recovery numbers per game during his Liverpool career, while defensive actions are also down on last season. And, while leadership should not be Van Dijk's preserve alone in a Liverpool team packed with experience, it was absent here. No-one was rousing a team that once again looked bewildered to seize the initiative by the scruff of the neck. Van Dijk's difficult night, which ended with him being used as the emergency option of acting as an emergency striker, was symptomatic of a horribly mediocre Liverpool performance - which made Sunday's win at West Ham seem like the outlier rather than the norm. Liverpool Without Ideas Slot kept faith with the side that stopped a run of nine losses in 12 games at London Stadium, Salah once more starting on the sidelines. The Egyptian came on at the start of the second half as the Kop pinned hopes on him for inspiration. It was not forthcoming, with £125m Alexander Isak also ineffective after scoring his first with his first league goal for Liverpool on Sunday. Slot would have been under even more pressure had Florian Wirtz's 81st-minute shot not deflected in off Nordi Mukiele to set up what Liverpool hoped would be a thrilling finale. Stoppage-time tension came - but at the other end. Liverpool were only spared embarrassment in stoppage time when Federico Chiesa's superb tracking back allowed him to turn Sunderland substitute Wilson Isidor's shot off the line after he had rounded keeper Alisson. Praise Deserved and Looking Ahead Slot and his underperforming defending champions ultimately had to take a point knowing it could have been worse, with Alisson blessed to turn Trai Hume's shot onto the bar in the first half before Omar Alderete headed against the post after the interval. Liverpool were slow, labored and short on invention. Even the customary late surge after the equaliser carried little conviction. Showings like this are the reason their defense of their crown has crumbled. But significant praise for the Reds' struggles on Wednesday must be given to Sunderland, who are being seeing the results for a summer of notable ambition in the transfer market, coupled with the excellent coaching of Regis le Bris. The Black Cats were proactive, self-believing and threatening. Sunderland are now sixth in the Premier League with 23 points. It is indicative of the manner in which they have adapted to life in the Premier League that they will be unhappy they left Anfield without adding two more to their tally. For Slot and Liverpool, it is back to the drawing board.