Roy Keane told Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk to “start with the man in the mirror” after the Reds lost 2-1 to Manchester United on Sunday.
The defeat against the Red Devils was Liverpool’s fourth straight defeat, having lost to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea before the international break.
Liverpool had a five-point lead in the Premier League after five games, but then lost three consecutive league games, leaving the Reds four points behind leaders Arsenal.
Van Dijk has avoided most of the criticism for Liverpool’s performances this season, but Keane believes the Reds captain needs to take a look in the mirror after his recent lackluster performances.
Keane told Sky Sports: “When you are a centre-half and a big player and everyone was looking to see who stayed last year and he signed a big contract and then you conceded a lot of goals, I would look at him.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ Especially because he’s a big leader in the team. I saw the moment. I think a few years ago he was talking about United coming there[Anfield]and parking the bus and criticizing United.”
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“Yes, they scored twice today and they scored twice last year too. And you are the centre-half of this team and you always start as the man in the mirror.
“Today we’re talking about the arrival of[Harry]Maguire and Bruno[Fernandes]but Van Dijk, if you’re a centre-half and your team suddenly concedes a lot of goals and a new player comes in, you have to look at yourself and ask yourself, ‘Am I really helping these players, am I really grabbing people?’
Keane believes Van Dijk has a role to play in helping Liverpool stop conceding late goals, adding: “What happens when you become champions, the biggest challenge is next year, because people will look at you and say, “You’re the champions, we’re going to chase you.” United were also there today.
“United’s attackers were a little bit bossy and Liverpool were struggling to deal with that.
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“We talk about statistics, but I think the really important statistic in football is the scoreline. Last year Liverpool won a lot of games with the odd goal, but they’re in a bad direction right now. They’re conceding a lot of goals late in the game. They’re conceding a lot of goals late in the game.”
“Liverpool almost gave them a gift just before the goal by giving the ball away cheaply. That’s the moment when Van Dijk has to tell his players, ‘Guys, calm down.’
“I think it’s good to push yourself and panic sometimes, but not all the time. It was like that from the first half.”
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