Virgil van Dijk addressed Wayne Rooney’s criticism of his leadership as he spoke alongside the former Manchester United and England captain after Liverpool‘s 1-0 Champions League win over Real Madrid.
Alexis Mac Allister struck the only goal in the second half at Anfield as Arne Slot’s side recorded back-to-back wins after a sequence of six defeats in seven games.
Van Dijk stood alongside Amazon Prime pundit Rooney, who had been critical of the Dutchman’s leadership, as the Reds captain spoke to the broadcaster after the contest.
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“In a world of chaos you have to stay calm and try and take the right perspective,” Van Dijk said on Amazon Prime. “At times the noise was a lot.”
When asked if he was looking at anyone of the pundits in particular, Van Dijk said: “Not at all. But I think it’s very important to put things into perspective.
“Keep your head down and work and get out of the situation because quality is what we have. That’s not the issue.
“I think all of you here know that you’re dealing with a squad of 25 players and everyone lives a different life, so for me personally it doesn’t affect me.
“But as a captain I’m dealing with players who might be affected by it [the criticism].
“If you lose four games in a row, as a Liverpool player, then there’s fair criticism — that’s absolutely normal, in that sense.
“But I think it’s over the top at times as well. We live in a world where there’s so many platforms, so many people can say stuff and it gets picked up and made bigger than what it is.”
Rooney said in response: “When you win the Premier League, I think what I said was fair. You don’t expect Liverpool to lose four games in a row.
“I think the response has been great from Virgil and the team.”
