Category Sports News

Virgil van Dijk called out Wayne Rooney’s “over the top” criticism of him live on air after Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

The Liverpool captain spoke to match broadcasters Amazon Prime after the match, taking questions from pundits, including Rooney.

Last month on the Wayne Rooney Show, the former Manchester United striker criticised the body language of Van Dijk and Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah after a run of four consecutive Premier League defeats.

Van Dijk responded by accusing Rooney of “lazy criticism”, before Rooney then doubled down on his comments.

On Tuesday they came face-to-face for the first time since the comments, resulting in slightly awkward encounter.

Van Dijk approached the Amazon Prime team pitchside and greeted all the pundits – including Rooney – before standing next to the former England striker.

The interview began with presenter Gabby Logan asking Van Dijk to review the win before Logan then addressed the poor run the Reds had been on, and how important a team meeting after the 2-1 loss to Manchester United on 19 October had been to improving form.

Van Dijk: “It is easy to say now because we won twice in a row that it helped pretty well but in a world of chaos you have to try and stay calm and take perspective of things. In that meeting the time was October, so much football to be played, so many twists and turns that can happen and I think at times the noise was a lot (said with a small smile on his face).”

Logan: “You looking at anybody round here in particular?”

Van Dijk: “No, no not all but listen I think it is very important to put things in perspective, keep your head down and work and get out the situation because the quality we have, that is not the issue. It is about keep working and keep going.”

Robbie Fowler: “Does the outside noise affect you or are you just happy plodding along, doing what you need to do and try and put people right?”

Van Dijk: “I think all of you know here you are dealing with a squad of 25 players, a lot of young players and a couple of older players like myself and everyone lives a different life. I can say for me personally it doesn’t affect me but as a captain I am dealing with players who may be affected about it.”

Logan: “Has some of the criticism been fair, do you think?”

Van Dijk: “Of course, if you lose four or five games in a row as a Liverpool player then it is a fair criticism, that is absolutely normal in that sense. But I think it is over the top at times as well at that point, but that is because we live in a world with so many platforms and so many people can say stuff, it will be picked up and made bigger. I think it is good that ex-players who played at the highest level who dealt with difficult moments as well puts a lot in perspective (said with a smile as Rooney laughs).”

Rooney: “I am not saying anything any more because I think I spurred them on and put them on a winning streak!

“I think what I’ve said was fair when you win the Premier League and then go on a run where you lose three or four games in a row, which you don’t expect from Liverpool over the last few years.

“As Virgil is captain I think that is your opportunity to go and lead the players and that is what I was saying. That happens in football and I think the response has been great from Virgil and the team.”

Van Dijk: “I think if you watched games then I would definitely take responsibility. I think the comment that I signed my new deal and then it was like ‘that is it’ and I let it slide, I think that was a bit… but that’s my personal opinion and we move on.”

After Liverpool won 1-0 against Real Madrid on Tuesday, Virgil van Dijk publicly criticized Wayne Rooney for his “over the top” comments.

After the game, the Liverpool captain addressed Amazon Prime, where he received questions from Rooney-related pundits, including the captain.

After a run of four Premier League defeats straight, the former Manchester United striker criticized Van Dijk and his fellow Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah’s body language on the Wayne Rooney Show last month.

Rooney responded by blatantly criticizing Van Dijk, before doubling down on his criticism.

They first met face-to-face on Tuesday after making comments, which caused a slightly awkward encounter.

Van Dijk greeted all the pundits, including Rooney, before standing next to the former England striker as he approached the Amazon Prime team pitchside.

Van Dijk addressed the Reds’ poor run, the team’s performance, and how crucial a team meeting was to improving after the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on October 19. Presenter Gabby Logan asked Van Dijk to review the win.

Van Dijk: “In a world of chaos, you have to try and stay calm and keep perspective,” Van Dijk said. “It is simple to say that because we won twice in a row that it helped pretty well. I believe there was a lot of noise at that meeting because it was October, there was a lot of football playing, and there were a lot of twists and turns (said with a small smile on his face).

Logan, are you really looking at anyone around here?

Van Dijk: “No, no not at all, but listen, I think it’s very important to put things in perspective, keep your head down, work, and get out of this situation because of the quality we have, that’s not the issue.” Keep working and keep moving, really.

Robbie Fowler: “Does the outside noise affect you, or are you just happy plodding along, doing what you need to, and trying to fix things”?

Van Dijk: “I think you all know that you are dealing with a squad of 25 players, including a number of young players and a few older players like myself, and everyone leads a different life.” I can honestly say that it doesn’t bother me, but that as a captain I’m dealing with players who might be affected by it.

Logan: “Has some of the criticism been fair, do you think so?”

Van Dijk: “Of course, it is a fair criticism if you lose four or five games in a row as a Liverpool player. That is absolutely normal.” However, I believe it is occasionally over the top, as well, because there are so many platforms where people can post content, and it will be expanded. I think it’s good that former players who played at the highest level and who handled challenging situations (said Rooney with a smile) put things in perspective.

Rooney: “I’m not saying anything more because I believe I spurred them on and made them win!”

You don’t expect anything from Liverpool over the past few years, which is fair when you win the Premier League and then go on a run where you lose three or four games in a row.

“I believe that is your opportunity to go and lead the players,” Virgil said. I believe Virgil and the team have responded well to that in football.

Van Dijk: “I believe I would take responsibility for what I watch.” I believe the statement that I signed my new contract was “that is it” and I let it go, I believe it was a little, but that’s my personal opinion, and we move on.”

Over the past nine months, Arsenal fans have grown used to seeing Mikel Merino celebrate after scoring while playing as a striker.

And the frontman-turned-midfielder scored twice in their 3-0 Champions League victory over Slavia Prague on Tuesday.

As the Swede prepares for further tests, the 29-year-old was putting in place of Viktor Gyokeres, whose muscle injury is “concerning” manager Mikel Arteta.

Merino’s ability to step up and deliver for the Gunners, who have now extended their winning streak to 10 in all competitions, is thankfully unafraid.

“It’s wonderful to have him,” Arteta remarked. He asserts that this is his leadership, mindset, and personality.

We need to find new ways to replace the attacking players because we are lacking. He scores two goals in the Champions League.

After suffering a hamstring injury to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus’ cruciate ligament injury (ACL) a month prior, Merino made his first appearance for the Gunners as a substitute frontman in the Premier League victory over Leicester.

Merino had never assumed that position before when he was a child.

He then won the previous campaign with nine goals in all competitions, winning at Chelsea, Fulham, and Real Madrid.

In order to bring in a natural number nine and win their first trophy since 2020, Arsenal signed Gyokeres in a deal worth £64 million in the summer.

With Havertz sidelined with a knee injury since the start of the season, the Swede has scored six goals in his 14 appearances.

Merino will need to play front and center to help Arsenal because of concerns Gyokeres might not be able to play for another while with a hamstring issue.

The Spaniard met a Leandro Trossard cross with a neat finish just after the break, before heading home Declan Rice’s delivery to seal the impressive success.

He has established himself as a member of the leadership group, making him one of Arteta’s favorites in the squad and well-liked in the dressing room.

The Gunners boss continued, “My opinion was always that he had really good timing and the ability to finish in the box, especially one touch.”

“And then talking to him about how to attack the spaces in relation to how they defend the box, which was a little different today, as well as the way they set up, and making sure that he plays closer to the box.”

In order to improve their squad depth and quality, the Gunners spent more than £250 million on eight new players over the summer.

That is already being challenged, particularly in attacks.

Havertz, Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, and Martin Odegaard are all currently out injured, with Arteta admitting that he needed to find a solution for the Premier League side’s problems while they are also in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

He said, “You have to invent options,” “yes.” If you invent them, you always have options.

Mikel hasn’t played there before in his career, but we had a good experience last year and how he handled it.

We firmly believe that today, given how they were set up, provided him with a good chance to perform.

Merino, who was a member of the Spain squad that won Euro 2024 and scored a late winner in extra-time against Germany in the quarter-final, continued, “This team doesn’t care who is injured or not. The internal combustion engine has the same mentality.

Novak Djokovic advanced in Athens while Cameron Norrie defeated Frenchman Arthur Cazaux in three sets to advance to the Moselle Open quarter-finals.

In Metz, France, British No. 3 Norrie won a close match 7-6 (7-6), 6-2, to advance to his fifth tour-level quarter-final since Wimbledon in July.

The 30-year-old will next face French victors Kyrian Jacquet and Dan Added, who were both defeated on Wednesday.

In the opening match, world number 27 Norrie broke the 69th-ranked Cazaux’s serve, which came in second place last year.

However, Norrie had to survive a break point to end the first set, which the home favorite dominated, after Cazaux levelled the set.

The second set also headed toward a tie-break, but Norrie held on for the lead once more and eventually seized his fourth set point with a stunning forehand winner.

After a struggling Cazaux’s fading energy with an immediate break, Norrie raced to the finish line at midnight local time, capitalising on that momentum into the decider.

He is a very talented player, and it’s always a battle. I had to work hard to enter the match, and I had to choose some self-defense maneuvers,” Norrie said.

“I just told myself I wanted to be here and play.”

Alejandro Tabilo defeated Djokovic for the first time at the Athens Open, making it to his 225th tour-level quarter-final.

Tabilo, a Chilean, and Djokovic had previously won both of their previous meetings, but Roger Federer is the only player to have gone 3-0 head-to-head against the record-holder 24-time men’s Grand Slam champion.

The 38-year-old Serb increased his record of winning every match that he has won the first set this season to 28 with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 victory after prevailing in a first-set tie-break.

In a dominant finish to the match, Djokovic won 20 of the final 23 points.

Handball or handball not? On Tuesday night, VAR penalties were decided between Arsenal and Liverpool.

When a free-kick went down as a dropped ball just as they thought they had a penalty against Real Madrid, Liverpool fans were left completely perplexed.

Despite a Slavia Prague handball coming from the defender’s head, Arsenal were the ones who were saved.

Was Brennan Johnson’s dismissal against FC Copenhagen unfortunate for Tottenham Hotspur?

In the 30th minute, Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni blocked a shot that Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai made on goal.

The Real Madrid player was shown a free kick for handball by the referee, which appeared to be very close to being inside the area.

When the referee jogged over to the pitchside monitor, where the VAR was located, Liverpool fans inside Anfield erupted, anticipating a penalty would be given.

Except that’s not what was going on.

The VAR, not the referee, would make a factual decision about the location of the handball, not the referee.

A referee serves as the judge for a subjective decision, such as handball, to the monitor. The referee was therefore overturning his decision to handball by going to the screen.

But how did we start off with a dropped ball for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after receiving a free kick from Liverpool?

It’s a penalty because the handball actually occurred inside the box. Additionally, the VAR has the authority to review a penalty.

The free kick would have remained in place regardless of whether it had been proven to be correct or incorrect if the handball had been determined to be outside the area.

Although it was overturned in a Uefa competition, the outcome was acceptable. Kovacs likely noticed that Tchouameni’s arm was farther out, but when the Real Madrid player hit him, he had the ball very close to his body, without creating a horizontal barrier.

Play restarts with the goalkeeper, which effectively leaves Liverpool with their attacking possession because it was an overturned penalty.

Why did the VAR get involved when the ball landed on Provod’s head and was later transferred to the ball?

There is a distinction to be made between deliberately heading the ball and deflection in the Premier League, which is highly unlikely to have been a VAR penalty.

A defender shouldn’t receive a penalty if they nod their own raised arm when they receive a firm contact on a header.

He pressed in unaided to get the ball away from Marcos Lopez, and after his boot came up off the ground, the ball landed on Lopez’s leg.

Was the yellow card that the referee showed really a clear and obvious error, according to Erik Lambrechts?

Watch highlights of every Champions League game on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, and the BBC Sport website and app from 12:00 to eve of the match.