Arne Slot must swallow his pride and DROP Virgil van Dijk - he's not been good enough
Liverpool's leaky defence is the responsibility of captain Virgil Van Dijk, who deserves to be dropped on current form amid the Reds' alarming slump in form
The case for Liverpool's defence just doesn't stack up. Unlike the number of goals Arne Slot's men are still conceding.
And I don't just mean Liverpool's title defence, but the team's actual defence. Since the start of the season, Liverpool have kept three clean sheets in all competitions.
While conceding 11 goals in their last six games in all competitions. And the person most guilty of letting Liverpool down at the back is someone who appears immune from criticism in the red half of Merseyside.
It wasn't too long ago Virgil Van Dijk was considered the best centre back in the world. But right now, he isn't even the best one in his own team.
In the recent home defeat to bitter rivals Manchester United, Ibrahima Konate did what he could to bail his partner in crime out of trouble.
But in the weekend loss at Brentford, there was little he Frenchman could do to stop Van Dijk from being exposed. The Dutchman was at fault for conceding a penalty for a naive trip on Dango Outarra.
And was nowhere to be seen when Kevin Schade ran through to double Branford's lead before half time.
In short, this is nowhere near the standards Van Dijk expects of himself, or Slot and Liverpool expect of the 34-year-old.
Is age catching up with him? Van Dijk has looked a pale imitation of his former self this season.
Dragged down by the poor form of Konate in general, and the failure of new signing Milos Kerkez, who resembles a rabbit in the headlights when it comes to dealing with the frantic pace of English football.
Slot has made some big calls in recent weeks, including dropping the likes of Mo Salah and Florian Wirtz.
But does he have the courage to make the ultimate one - and leave out his captain foe the visit of Aston Villa this coming weekend?
The mere thought is almost unimaginable. But then again, so was the prospect of Liverpool losing four league games on the spin.
United are now above them in the table, which will feel humiliating to the English champions. So drastic times call for drastic measures.
Perhaps a break would do Van Dijk good. Give him the chance to reevaluate his game and work out what is not working.
Like Salah, Van Dijk could be lacking motivation. But if Liverpool aren't careful, they will lack something much more important. A realistic chance to overhaul Arsenal in the title race.
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