Richard Dunne's pre-match concerns around the form of Virgil van Dijk were vindicated as Liverpool were demolished 4-1 away to Napoli on Wednesday night.
Ahead of the Champions League tie, Ireland legend Dunne expressed his view that van Dijk is no longer the force of old.
Dunne said on Virgin Media Sport: "van Dijk a couple of years ago was the best centre-half in the world.
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings as Joe Gomez and James Milner awful in Napoli humbling
"He was showing people the line, he was showing people into empty spaces, he was recovering well, he was full tilt when he was going at stuff.
"All of a sudden after the injury he just started to take a step back. Defending a little bit deeper, allowing people the opportunities to come at him.
"It was almost as if he started to believe he is the best defender in the world and if people take him on, he can do anything.
"But people don't need to take him on because he's giving them so much space. He just seems to have lost that authority.
"It is very hard to criticise him as he is still such a good centre-half, but he is not the player he was a couple of years ago."
And Dunne's opinion was validated on the evidence of Wednesday's match in which van Dijk and his defensive partner Joe Gomez were run ragged.
Liverpool were behind after only five minutes when James Milner blocked a shot with his arm and the referee pointed to the spot. Piotr Zieliński stepped up to give the Italian side the lead.
Jurgen Klopp's side were all at sea and they conceded another penalty when van Dijk fouled the elusive Victor Osimhen.
This time Allison came to Liverpool's rescue but they went 2-0 down when André-Frank Anguissa played one-two with Zielinski before finishing from a tight angle.
And Liverpool were three nil down before half-time when Giovanni Simeone capitalised on a Gomes mistake to find the net.
The second half turned into an effort to keep the scoreline respectable when Napoli went four nil up, with big question marks starting to surround this Liverpool team.
READ MORE:
- David Clifford nominated alongside Galway duo Cillian McDaid and Shane Walsh for Footballer of the Year
- Kerry lead the way with twelve players nominated for All-Stars
RTE pundit Richie Sadlier launches defence of Celtic over pragmatism row
Colm Collins becomes longest-serving inter-county boss with reappointment in Clare
Shamrock Rovers ace Andy Lyons refused to let Blackpool deal sidetrack him from the job at hand
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
