"This downfall is actually sad" "He's so washed" - Liverpool superstar gets ripped apart for his shambolic performance on international duty
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been lambasted by fans after his poor showing in the Netherlands' 3-2 defeat to Italy in the UEFA Nations League.
Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes of the Nations League third-place playoff between Ronald Koeman's men and Gli Azzurri. However, he had a bad day at the office and was particularly poor when Federico Chiesa netted the Italians' third.
Italy claimed third place in the Nations League courtesy of goals from Federico Dimcarco, Davide Frattesi and Chiesa. Oranje could only hit back through Steven Bergwijn and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Van Dijk is coming off the back of a mixed season with Liverpool amid injury issues and question marks about whether he has regressed. He failed to put in the excellent form that has seen him regarded as one of the Premier League's greatest defenders.
That was again the case while on international duty and he is being heavily criticized for his role in Chiesa's goal. Netherlands legend Rafael van der Vaart laid into the Reds defender after the loss to Italy. He said (via The European Lad):
"Virgil van Dijk is being criticized and rightly so. For 20 minutes I thought: he is back, but that moment with Chiesa.. he is basically doing nothing."
Van Dijk did make six clearances and two interceptions during the game. However, it was his lack of defending in the process of Roberto Mancini's side's third that led to him being slammed.
One fan is disappointed with the 31-year-old's drop-off:
"This Van Dijk downfall is actually sad man."
Another fan thinks Van Dijk is past his peak:
"Bodied the aura defender."
Here's how Twitter reacted to the Liverpool defender's lackluster showing against Gli Azzurri:
@TheEuropeanLad This Van Dijk downfall is actually sad man
@TheEuropeanLad Bodied the aura defender 😭😭
@TheEuropeanLad He’s so washed 😂😭😭😭
@TheEuropeanLad Van Disney is finished 😭
@TheEuropeanLad Messi really ended the Netherlands
England boss Gareth Southgate set to hand Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold more midfield opportunities
Liverpool are being well represented during the international break and Trent Alexander-Arnold shone for England. The Reds' right-back played in a midfield position against Malta on Friday (June 16). He dazzled in the role, scoring a sensational strike in a 4-0 win.
It was a man-of-the-match performance from Alexander-Arnold and his manager Gareth Southgate seems to be keen on him continuing in midfield. He said (via ESPN):
"I've got no questions in my head he can do it. It's just learning some nuances of the role, without the ball especially, but he's very keen."
Southgate continued by revealing prior conversations he held with Alexander-Arnold about the positional change:
"We talked about it four weeks ago on the phone and he's excited about it. He showed exactly what we think he could be capable of and he gives us something different to our other midfielders."
Alexander-Arnold is predominantly a right-back but many have argued he should be moved into midfield. He is an accomplished passer and dead-ball specialist. However, his defending has sometimes left much to be admired.