'Terrible' Virgil van Dijk officially FAILED by Liverpool | OneFootball

has been labelled 'terrible' for his recent performances. Liverpool are officially failing their superstar captain.

Liverpool have been struggling from front to back in recent games. They've lost four in a row for a reason, after all - this is a team that just can't function properly.

It's an insane thing to say about a team that didn't just win the Premier League last season but also underwent a record-breaking transfer window. Liverpool already had an elite group and then they added truly world-class players to it.

But this group does not work the way it should. The Reds can't operate properly in this system and it's bringing about criticism for those who've never properly had it before.

Virgil van Dijk is at the top of that particular list. Alan Shearer has had strong words about the Liverpool captain when speaking on 'The Rest is Football' this week.

“I mean, Van Dijk and [Ibrahima] Konate," said Shearer. "The two fullbacks have had a lot of stick and a lot of criticism, and I understand that, and I get that. But the two centre-backs? They are all over the place.

“They’ve been terrible. And they were at Brentford — they were awful, both of them, I mean, Van Dijk and Konate, weren’t they?”

Micah Richards agreed that the pair had been 'awful'. Now, we think that's incredibly harsh on them but more than that, it's a sign that this Liverpool team is officially failing its captain.

Virgil van Dijk's form

No, Van Dijk hasn't been at his best this season. The underlying data shows why, however - the Dutchman is playing a different role.

Liverpool are not anywhere near as good as they have been at controlling team. Van Dijk's role since arriving in 2018 has been to run a defence, win one-on-one duels and keep the Reds' position high up the pitch.

That's now changed. Liverpool face an incredible number of long balls in every match as teams have realised they can instantly bypass the press.

It's forcing the entire team deeper, as shown by Van Dijk averaging 9.67 clearances per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. His previous high across his entire Liverpool career is 5.71 and that came in his first half-season with the Reds.

He's also recovering loose balls less than ever - half as many as he would a few years back. Similarly, Van Dijk is facing fewer one-on-ones with the ball and making fewer tackles in the midfield third.

Liverpool are being pushed back and teams are finding it far too easy to move possession up the pitch. Now Van Dijk's role is more of a 'traditional' centre-back who sits in the box and clears the ball. He's having just as many touches as he usually would - they're just much deeper and in the wrong places. This is not a case of him choosing to clear the ball over passing it.

This is a failure of Liverpool as a team. They don't offer adequate protection to the defence, nor are they able to consistently win the battle for territory on the pitch.

Without that, Van Dijk will not be the player we all know he is as he's literally playing a different role now. That's Liverpool letting him down and, like with so many others, failing to get the best out of a superstar.