Micah Richards reveals why Virgil van Dijk has been struggling at Liverpool.

Liverpool are enduring a tough spell, with their struggles continuing over the weekend in a defeat to Brentford. Arne Slot’s team have now suffered four consecutive Premier League losses, dropping to seventh place in the table.

While much attention has been given to the inconsistent form of new arrivals Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, several of last season’s standout performers have also failed to hit their previous heights — among them, captain Virgil van Dijk.

Alan Shearer and Micah Richards on Van Dijk’s form

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast (via TBR Football), Alan Shearer criticized both Van Dijk and his defensive partner Ibrahima Konate for their poor display against Brentford.

> “They’re just bad all over the pitch,” Shearer said. “You can talk about the midfield lacking protection or the attack not connecting, but defensively — oh my word.
Van Dijk and Konate… The fullbacks have taken plenty of criticism, which I understand, but the two centre-backs have been dreadful. At Brentford, they were awful — both of them.”

Micah Richards agreed with Shearer’s assessment but suggested that Van Dijk’s struggles stem from a lack of support from Konate.

> “Yeah, they were awful,” Richards admitted. “But what we’re seeing now is that Van Dijk needs help. In past seasons, he was the one bailing everyone else out.
Partnerships are about balance, and right now, Van Dijk needs Konate to step up — but that’s not happening. You can’t have both centre-halves playing badly at the same time.”

Liverpool will need to turn things around quickly if they hope to keep their Premier League title defense alive, as their grip on the trophy is already starting to loosen.