Carragher takes aim at Liverpool ‘baby’

Gary Neville couldn’t believe what he saw from Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United as Jamie Carragher hit out at the Reds “baby”.

Harry Maguire’s last-minute header secured all three points for United at Anfield, in a game which highlighted the collective struggles of Arne Slot’s side as well as the poor individual performances of Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Van Dijk, who was at fault for Bryan Mbeumo’s opener.

Van Dijk clattered into teammate Alexis Mac Allister – leaving him prostrate on the floor clutching his head – and Mbeumo, then failed to block a Bruno Fernandes pass or track back as Mbeumo dashed in behind him to score.

READ MORE: Van Dijk, Salah and Isak all awful as Manchester United push Liverpool into crisis

Gary Neville was left stunned by the Liverpool captain, saying on commentary: “Mac Allister goes down, but what stuns me is Van Dijk. Mbeumo runs off him; he can’t see him. That is the big surprise.

“Mbeumo reacts like a boxer off the ground, and he is away. Mamardashvili can’t keep it out, a stunning start for Manchester United. I can’t work out if Van Dijk is trying to play him offside. He points towards Konate as if to say, ‘That is your man.’ It is a strange handover from him.”

Analysing the goal on Sky Sports, Roy Keane said: “Obviously the referee could stop it but I don’t know why Virgil van Dijk is getting involved [with the header]. He then goes back in [to tackle Fernandes] so he is out of position. Liverpool is on the back foot but it is poor from Van Dijk.”

Redknapp added: “It is brilliant from United but Van Dijk makes a big mistake. He has to sprint back. Yes there is a collision but you have to get back into shape. He can’t just pass it on to [Ibrahima] Konate.”

And Konate, much maligned for most of this season and blamed for Liverpool’s struggles, drew praise after the game from Carragher, who slammed Van Dijk in the process.

“More worrying is the challenge Cunha won against Van Dijk ten seconds before that,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“For a lot of this season, Van Dijk has had to look after and really baby Konate alongside him. It’s roles reversed so far in this game.”

Milos Kerkez endured another difficult game, and Neville picked out Liverpool’s left flank where Kerkez played alongside Van Dijk, as the big problem for the Reds.

“Konate has been so superior. At times, he’s been Liverpool’s only defender. He’s done really well. The rest of them are struggling,” Neville added.

“Normally the right hand side of Liverpool’s defence gets punished. But today it’s the left hand side. Kerkez and Van Dijk have struggled.”