I am worried about him - Gary Neville reacts to shocking Van Dijk performance

Gary Neville has singled out Virgil van Dijk for criticism following Liverpool's "really worrying" 3-0 defeat to title rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

After recent victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid, there was a sense that Liverpool had turned a corner. However, Arne Slot's team was dealt a harsh reality check by a dominant City side.

The hosts took the lead through an Erling Haaland header, which came shortly after Liverpool's goalkeeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, had saved his penalty. Nicolas Gonzalez then extended City's advantage just before halftime with a long-range effort, and Doku made sure of the points.

The humbling loss leaves the defending champions in eighth place, eight points adrift of league leaders Arsenal. In contrast, Manchester City's win propels them to second in the table, just four points off the top.

Neville was particularly perplexed by Van Dijk's defending for City's second goal, where the ball deflected off the stationary defender.

"It’s a really worrying performance for Liverpool, it’s as bad a performance from them that I’ve seen in a long time," Neville commented during the Sky Sports broadcast. "They’ve lost every battle one-v-one, every single one of them. Their legs looked gone in that first half."

"Virgil van Dijk was really strange for Man City’s second. He was just standing there and lets it hit him. There’s a little movement from his right leg and it kills his goalkeeper."

"Liverpool fans will be worried," he added.

"There was a huge amount of optimism around the transfer window but it’s not quite happening yet and this is a big disappointment today."