The spotlight that had been trained on one Liverpool icon swung to another on a tense night at Anfield, where the familiar roar felt more like a question than a chorus.
Mohamed Salah’s dip in form has dominated headlines this season, but it was Virgil van Dijk, once the unassailable pillar of Liverpool’s defence, who found himself under the harshest scrutiny during a flat 1-1 draw with Sunderland.
From imperious to imperilled
Both Van Dijk, 34, and Salah, 33, arrived at the season with fresh two‑year contracts and the club’s blessing to keep faith in experience. What began as a vote of confidence now reads like a gamble.
The Reds’ summer overhaul, a £450m recruitment drive under Arne Slot, has yet to deliver the defensive solidity expected, and Van Dijk’s aura of invincibility has shown worrying cracks.
The Dutch captain’s season has been marked by uncharacteristic errors: misplaced passes, hesitant positioning and a tendency to turn his back on danger at crucial moments.
Those lapses were painfully obvious when Chemsdine Talbi’s 67th‑minute strike found Van Dijk in retreat, the ball ricocheting off him and beyond Alisson to hand Sunderland the lead. It was a snapshot of a player who, until recently, rarely invited such calamity.
Voices of concern
Former England captain Steph Houghton was blunt on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Van Dijk gives the ball away, and then he just drops off. It’s the wrong decision.
He needs to go to the ball.” Jamie Redknapp echoed the unease on Sky Sports, noting that the defender who once seemed incapable of error is now second‑guessing himself.
Those critiques sting because Van Dijk’s CV is untouchable — two Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup and multiple domestic trophies. Yet statistics underline the decline: recoveries, tackles and interceptions are down, and his influence as a galvanising leader was conspicuously absent on a night when Liverpool looked rudderless.
Symptoms of a wider malaise
Van Dijk’s struggles have been compounded by teammates’ dips in form. Ibrahima Konaté has faltered, Milos Kerkez has not settled at left‑back, and the new-look defence has yet to gel.
Van Dijk’s panic‑stricken handball in the Champions League loss to PSV was another red flag, and his late‑game deployment as an emergency striker felt less like tactical ingenuity and more like desperation.
Liverpool’s performance was sluggish and unimaginative. Even the customary late surge after the equaliser lacked conviction.
The result underlined why their title defence has unravelled: a team short on ideas, cohesion and the spark that once made them relentless.
Sunderland’s statement and the road ahead
Credit where it’s due: Sunderland arrived at Anfield with purpose. Regis Le Bris’s side were positive, confident and dangerous — a summer of ambitious recruitment has them sitting sixth in the table and hungry for more. Their performance left Anfield relieved to take a point rather than celebrating a win.
For Slot and his fading champions, the verdict is clear: it’s back to the drawing board. Liverpool must rediscover leadership, sharpen defensive instincts and coax their veterans back to the standards that once made them world‑class. Until that happens, nights like this will keep turning up — and the questions about Van Dijk’s twilight years will only grow louder.
