Five-time English champion Steve Nicol has criticised Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk for his performance against Sunderland on Wednesday.
Nicol claimed that the Dutchman not only contributed to Sunderland’s goal but also left his team exposed towards the end of the match.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland in their Premier League clash at Anfield.
The Black Cats scored the first goal of the game 67th minute.
Virgil van Dijk intercepted Wilson Isidior’s cheeky pass for Chemsdine Talbi, only to give the ball away to Enzo Le Fee.
The French striker laid it off to Talbi, who finished spectacularly from 20 yards out.
Liverpool made it 1-1 in the 81st minute. Florian Wirtz’s strike took a big deflection off Nordi Mukiele before finding its way into the back of the net.
It went down as a Mukiele own goal.
The 1-1 draw has left Liverpool in eighth place, with Manchester United, in ninth, still to play.
Slot is under immense pressure to turn things around, with experts suggesting he could be sacked mid-season.
The next Liverpool manager betting odds are backing Jurgen Klopp to return and save the Reds’ season.
Nicol Slams Van Dijk After Liverpool’s Draw With Sunderland
On ESPN, Steve Nicol criticised Virgil van Dijk, saying he did ‘everything wrong’ against Sunderland.
“Do you know, I’ve actually not criticised Van Dijk that much this season, to be honest with you, but tonight, there is absolutely no question he has to bear a whole lot of responsibility,” said Nicol.
Nicol expanded on Van Dijk’s error, adding:
“He gave the ball away. He tries to play McAllister, who isn’t reading the pass. So what do you do when you make a mistake? Try and make up for it.
“And by making up for it, he could have stepped out and closed the ball, because he had Kerkes who’d already come in beside him, so he didn’t have to back off, but he did.
“And then when he sees Talibi going to strike the ball, again, he doesn’t step forward, he just turns sideways. I mean, what happened to make yourself big, you know, try and get in front of the ball?
“He got absolutely everything wrong.”
⚽️ VAN DIJK UP TO HIS OLD TRICKS, TALBI GETS A GOAL FOR SUNDERLAND! pic.twitter.com/yz1mHIzhgz
— VAR Center (@CenterVAR) December 3, 2025
Nicol also blamed Van Dijk for Sunderland’s injury-time effort, which Federico Chiesa blocked from the goal line.
“Then what we saw at the end, again, in my opinion, is down to your captain,” Nicol added.
“If you want to go forward, that’s fine, but the first thing you’ve got to do is make sure that things at the back are sorted before you do it.
“He just sauntered up, just went straight up, didn’t even look.”
The former Liverpool defender concluded by adding:
“So, you know, your captain’s there for a reason, he’s there to organise, he’s there to show the example, set the example. And he absolutely didn’t do that tonight.”
Van Dijk extended Liverpool stay earlier this year, committing to stay until June 2027. The 34-year-old has played 339 games for the Reds in all competitions, scoring 30 goals.
