BBC pundit thinks ‘overrated’ Liverpool player looks really vulnerable now

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BBC Sport pundit Stephen Kelly has said that Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk looks vulnerable right now.

Speaking on the Football Daily Podcast, Kelly was examining Liverpool 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur yesterday.

It was a fantastic spectacle for the neutral at Anfield yesterday.

Liverpool raced into a three-goal lead as Tottenham once again failed to get out of first gear.

Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah all found the back of the net, giving Fraser Forster no chance.

No one would have given Tottenham any hope of getting back into the game based on their recent performances.

However, Liverpool looked just as shaky at the back as the visitors and allowed them back into the game.

Harry Kane had acres of space for Tottenham’s first goal, volleying past Alisson Becker.

It was created by Ivan Perisic, who bypassed Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk easily, completely knocking the Dutchman off balance.

As he fell to the floor, Perisic had loads of time to pick out the unmarked Kane.

Kelly is now worried that Van Dijk hasn’t been at his best for Liverpool for a long time.

The last thing Jurgen Klopp needs this summer is to have to worry about replacing one of his most important players.

Kelly worried about Liverpool star Van Dijk

Assessing the game on the Football Daily Podcast, Kelly said: “Apart from the unbelievable chances, the defending at times if you actually analyse it as a coach, some of the defending was atrocious.

“It was so bad from both sides, it really was. In the second half, Liverpool looked so vulnerable.

“[Virgil] Van Dijk, he’s had an off season, and maybe he can get back to what he was.

“But, when he’s chasing down [Ivan] Perisic and Perisic chops inside and he slips over, I’m like, Van Dijk would have got there and just eaten him alive and pushed him into the corner and shown him away, and Perisic would have turned away and sort of run back. That’s the way he was.

“But there’s a vulnerability to him now that wasn’t there before and Liverpool have that, but they still came away winners with Moura giving that chance away.”

Previously described by Jason Cundy as ‘overrated’, Van Dijk has failed to reach the levels that have previously seen him considered one of the world’s best centre-backs.

He was made to panic whenever Gabriel Jesus got the ball in their recent outing against Arsenal.

Kelly’s criticism of Van Dijk is harsh but fair, with virtually every Liverpool player dropping off compared to last season.

They have a glimmer of hope of finishing in the top four this season.

However, once that disappears, the best thing that can happen for Liverpool is for the season to end.