TalkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy has put the blame on Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool's poor form this season after dropping points in five of their opening eight Premier League fixtures.
Van Dijk has come in for criticism this season and the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur player believes Van Dijk is a "shadow" of the player he once was.
Many labelled Liverpool's defeat at Manchester United as Van Dijk's worst performance in a Red shirt, but they later went on to lose 4-1 in Napoli. The Dutchman looked much more solid next to the returning Joel Matip as Liverpool beat Ajax 2-1 in the Champions League.
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Liverpool's defence for a number of years under Klopp has been one of the reasons why they have been winning trophies, but that same defence has been torn apart on occasions this season.
Cundy was speaking on TalkSPORT's The Sports Bar : "There’s no doubting how good Van Dijk was, but right now let’s call it as it is, Van Dijk is an absolute shadow of the player he was.
“He’s getting overlooked because he’s happy to blame Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Gomez and Tsimikas comes in. The mainstay right now is Van Dijk and he’s nowhere near it.
"What about the challenge on Mitrovic for the penalty against Fulham? Mitrovic turns him, that’s not Van Dijk! He squares him up, turns him, penalty. Against Napoli, he lunges in and makes a challenge that he doesn’t have to make.”
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