Following a third successive defeat for Arne Slot’s Liverpool, frustration reached boiling point for Virgil van Dijk after the match, as his responses to a journalist’s right-back questions proved eye-opening.
It was merely a few months ago that Merseyside was painted red, as Liverpool became the Premier League champions. Doing so in an impressive fashion, Slot’s side were the team to beat going into the 2025/26 season, something that many deemed impossible after a gargantuan summer of spending.
Signing the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, along with notable outgoings, it appeared Liverpool had built a squad that intended to go far in all competitions. However, following a string of last-minute victories, the tide has turned, and last-minute defeats are plaguing Liverpool’s season.
Results that can be blamed for numerous reasons, it appears that one NBC journalist sees the right-back position as an issue, something an inflamed Van Dijk took issue with following a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Van Dijk Snaps at Journalist’s Questions After Chelsea Defeat
It goes without saying that no Premier League footballer is happy after a defeat, let alone the captain of the defending Premier League champions, who are on a streak of three consecutive losses. Following a last-minute defeat to the newly-crowned bogie team, Crystal Palace, a defeat away from home to Galatasaray in the Champions League saw the Chelsea game become all the more important.
However, what has seen them win countless games this season has become their nemesis, as an Estevao 96th-minute winner further cast doubt over Liverpool’s season. With an abundance of signings still needing to gel, and positions needing to be filled to the previous standards, one NBC reporter deemed the right-back spot a big issue.
Proceeding to interview the Netherlands international, the reporter asked the Liverpool captain whether his side was still trying to find solutions to the right-back problem they were facing, insinuating they haven’t filled the Trent Alexander-Arnold-sized hole in the squad. Annoyed and confused, the defender replied promptly.
‘You asked two questions about the right-backs. Maybe you feel like the right-back is the problem. It’s not about him [Trent Alexander-Arnold]. He had amazing quality but he left us. Last year, we played a lot of games without him as well. Obviously we were all gutted that he left in the summer, but that is not the issue.’
Van Dijk, who has been ridiculed for his role in Moises Caicedo’s opener, went on to show love to right-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, who have been tasked with replacing the now Real Madrid right-back, Alexander-Arnold. Just one position of many to feature new players, it remains to be seen if right-back is where the true issues lie, or if Slot’s side has other problems to deal with.
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