Van Dijk Hits Back at Rooney Amid Slump

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk hit back at Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, calling Rooney's criticism of him and Mohamed Salah 'lazy' after Rooney suggested they had not provided leadership and linked their dip in form to lucrative new contracts. Van Dijk, who convened a players' meeting after the 2-1 defeat to United, said punditry and 'ridiculous takes' are outside noise the squad must ignore and said there are 'no hard feelings' though the commentary is unfair. Liverpool endured a crisis of form — six defeats in seven matches across all competitions, including four straight Premier League losses — that prompted questions over manager Arne Slot and several players. They eased pressure with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield in which Mohamed Salah scored his 250th Liverpool goal and Ryan Gravenberch added a deflected second. Van Dijk urged teammates to 'stick together', block out social-media-driven opinions and 'never get too high, never get too low', and rejected the idea that older players should shoulder blame alone, saying leadership is a collective task.