Van Dijk laughs off criticism, Anfield still have faith in him but Klopp is doubtful

Few in the Netherlands were expecting a draw against Ecuador on the second day of the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Much less that the South American team was superior and deserved to win. This brought repercussions and one of them was the criticism of Dutch legend Marco van Basten towards current captain Virgil van Dijk.

The Euro 88 hero said of the Liverpool centre-back that "you go forward very quickly. And then I think a thought comes up: okay, we're in front, we have to defend. But that's something that doesn't help us. I think Virgil has to play the leading role in that, he talks a lot, but he doesn't say anything," he told NOS. "Who is the best player in the team? That's Virgil. Looking at what he does when he has possession... It's just passing a ball to the players next to him. He needs to pick up the pace. He's just too slow," he continued.

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The response was swift and Louis van Gaal's captain was undaunted, saying that Van Basten's comments "are not positive, I don't think they help at the moment". "It's easy to make an analysis from Hilversum. I don't want to say that I played a fantastic game, not at all. But the things that are said about my failure as captain don't add up. I'm always in front, I lead the team in the best possible way," he said.

Van Dijk made more defensive clearances (6) than anyone else in Friday's match. He was kept busy as Ecuador had 15 shots against just two from the Dutch, the Oranje's lowest total at a World Cup since at least 1966, the first tournament for which data is available. Things did not work out for the Netherlands on Friday against Ecuador (1-1) and Oranje legend Marco van Basten was critical of, among others, Virgil van Dijk despite his good performance, in this case because the three-time Ballon d'Or winner believes the iconic Liverpool defender did not do a good job as captain. Van Dijk hit back at Van Basten.

<strong>&#34;It&#39;s easy to criticise&#34;</strong>

Van Dijk, who is Liverpool's third captain after Jordan Henderson and James Milner, said of Van Basten: "It's not always positive. What am I supposed to do with these statements? It's easy to talk from the studio and criticise like that. What do I fail as captain? I'm always at the front and lead the team in the best possible way. Van Dijk did not like Van Basten's opinions on the performance of the 'oranje' against Ecuador either. The Netherlands drew 1-1 against Ecuador on Friday and beat Senegal (0-2) in the opener to take four points in Group A. The same as Ecuador. The same as Ecuador.