Former Chelsea star Craig Burley delivered a sharp critique of Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk on ESPN, branding him a “coward.” Burley contended that Van Dijk “has been as bad as anybody else” during the club’s recent struggles, despite largely avoiding significant scrutiny.
The pundit, speaking on ESPN, claimed that while others, including Mo Salah, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Ekitike, have faced scrutiny, Van Dijk is “the barometer of what is wrong this year.”
Burley asserted that Van Dijk “has been as bad as anybody else” during Liverpool’s recent difficult run of results and performances, which Van Dijk himself had previously described as a “mess” following the loss to Nottingham Forest at Anfield last month.
Burley was particularly scathing about Van Dijk’s involvement in the Sunderland equalizer, where Chemsdine Talbi’s shot deflected off the captain after he gave the ball away.
Burley said: “He does everything wrong. Pass, doesn’t close it down and turns his back like a coward.”
He argued that the defender has largely “escaped serious criticism,” with scrutiny falling more heavily on his defensive partner Ibrahima Konate and left-back Milos Kerkez, whom Burley claimed Van Dijk has consistently “thrown under the bus.”
“He is supposed to be the leader. All he has done all season is throw Kerkez under the bus, (and) throw his arms up in the air,” Burley stated.
“He is making as many mistakes as any other player. Every game, you could watch him and go … ‘what’s he doing?’.”
Liverpool’s draw with Sunderland leaves them 11 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. Burley concluded: “But for me, at the back, he has been as bad as anybody else.
And I think that goal and the way that he refused to close it down and the fact that he turned his back is the epitome of his performances this season.”