Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has strongly responded to former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney’s criticism of his leadership, labeling the comments as “lazy criticism.”
The Reds secured a vital 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, ending a run of four straight Premier League defeats. The win, featuring goals from Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch, helped lift the team to third place.
Rooney had publicly questioned the leadership of Van Dijk and Salah, suggesting they hadn’t “really led that team this season.”
Van Dijk, while acknowledging Rooney as a legend, offered a firm rebuttal. “I feel that comment is just I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism,” the defender said after the match.
He argued that it’s easy to blame experienced players when results are poor, noting that such criticism was absent last year when the team was performing well.
“It’s easy to blame the older players but he knows obviously as well as everyone else we do it together,” Van Dijk added, stressing that he doesn’t take the comments personally.
The captain also threw his full support behind head coach Arne Slot, stating that internally, the club is united and focused on overcoming their difficult spell.
The victory sets up a challenging week for Liverpool, who host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday before a crucial trip to face Manchester City next Sunday.
