Liverpool urged to sell Virgil van Dijk after Real Madrid loss

Former Chelsea and Aston Villa striker Tony Cascarino has ridiculously claimed that it could be time for Liverpool to consider selling Virgil van Dijk after the Reds’ 5-2 loss against Real Madrid.

The Netherlands international manned a backline that conceded five goals against Los Blancos on Tuesday night at Anfield. Joe Gomez was clearly not in form but according to Cascarino, Van Dijk should have done more to help the Englishman perform better.

He wrote in the Times (Subscription Required) [h/t Liverpool.com]:

“As the senior center back, he should recognize that his partner is struggling and ensure the back line is flat. However, the Dutchman was often raising his eyebrows or looking to the ground.

“This body language reminds me of Van Dijk’s final season at Southampton when he was pushing for a move to Anfield. Five years on, I think it could be time for Liverpool to consider selling him themselves. The Van Dijk that was among the best in the world has disappeared.”

Is Cascarino right?

Nope. Let us walk through all five goals. It’s harsh to blame anyone for Vinicius Junior’s opening goal but Gomez was slow to block his goal-bound shot.

The second goal was caused by a needless backpass from the former Charlton Athletic player and a subsequent howler from Alisson Becker. The third goal came from the Liverpool team, especially Gomez, letting Eder Militao make an unmarked darting run towards a Luka Modric cross.

The game was lost at this point even though we were still a goal down. Karim Benzema’s first goal came via a poor deflection from Gomez. By the time they scored their fifth, it was so hopeless from the entire Liverpool team that it doesn’t make sense to point fingers at anyone at that point.

They were dejected, lost, and were seemingly running around aimlessly. It is odd to pinpoint Van Dijk as a point of the problem at any time during this game. He has always had a casual demeanour on the pitch.

He seems relaxed and at times, can be too relaxed, but this isn’t anything new. He is still one of the very best defenders in the world. Those who see him regularly and understand the craft of defending would probably agree with that.

At no point should we consider selling perhaps the most skilled and talented centre-back in the club’s history. We have to improve the midfield in front of him. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho Tavares did a poor job at shielding the defence while the young Stefan Bajcetic was perhaps overwhelmed by the quality of the opposition in front of him.

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Make the amends in midfield and then we can hope to see a change in our defence as well. Van Dijk’s game-reading ability and physical dominance aren’t something that can be dictated by form. The 31-year-old just needs better players around him.