“It's the only one thing I'd ever question" - Jamie Carragher on Van Dijk

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has criticised Reds centre-back Virgil van Dijk following the club's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The Reds were absolutely awful against the Red Devils last night. Jadon Sancho gave Manchester United the lead after 16 minutes of action.

Marcus Rashford then doubled the home team's advantage just after half-time. Mohamed Salah did find the back of the net in the final 10 minutes of the game to give Liverpool some hope.

But, Manchester United held on to secure the victory. Van Dijk made no attempt to close Sancho down before the England international scored the first goal of the game.

With that being the case, Carragher has taken aim at the Dutchman.

As quoted by Anfield Watch on Twitter, he told the Mail the following: “It's the only one thing I'd ever question Van Dijk on as a player. If you're going through a checklist of a centre back, he's 10/10 for most things. The one thing I do sometimes think is: does he lack a little bit of intensity at certain times?

“I know you never see him on the floor and that's a strength for a defender - if a defender's on the floor all the time, that's not a good sign. But now and again, when you're in the proverbial (s***), you've got to throw yourself at (the ball).

“That one there (the Sancho goal) he was literally stood there. It's one where you've got to go flying out and just throw yourself at him (Sancho). Slide along the floor, make yourself as big as possible. You can't just stand there!

“He almost made himself smaller, the way he stood. That's the one thing I sometimes think: go, be more aggressive, maybe slide in, throw yourself in front of something.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

We did find it strange that Van Dijk made no attempt to at least move towards Sancho.

But, there is no point in dwelling on what happened last night. Liverpool have to bounce back against Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

After three Premier League fixtures, the Reds are yet to secure a victory, which is slightly concerning.