Virgil van Dijk has responded to Wayne Rooney’s harsh words aimed at the Liverpool defender. The former striker, notably of Manchester United, felt that captain Van Dijk is not a true leader. Van Dijk calls Rooney’s remarks petty.
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Virgil van Dijk has answered Wayne Rooney’s recent criticism not with more words but with the sort of night every captain wants to point to.
A controlled 2-0 win over Aston Villa gave Liverpool a clean sheet, three points, and a timely reminder of what leadership looks like when it is expressed through structure, calm, and focus. Van Dijk’s view is simple. He regards the remarks as cheap and a little flimsy, he did not hear similar takes last season when results were flowing, and he prefers to keep attention on the job in front of the group rather than on outside noise. The tone is measured rather than combative. He respects Rooney’s career and status while making clear that the comments themselves do not carry much weight inside the dressing room.
That stance matters because leadership in modern football is rarely about grand gestures. It is built across ninety minutes of small decisions. When to step up the line. When to slow a transition. When to recycle play instead of forcing a vertical pass. Against Villa, Liverpool’s back line rarely panicked. The defensive spacing stayed compact, the distances between the center backs and the full backs were disciplined, and the midfield in front of them kept second balls under control. Those are not highlight-reel moments, yet they are exactly the places where leadership quietly reduces risk. A captain who organizes, communicates, and sets the temperature of the team can be the difference between a messy match and a routine home win.
It also helps that the collective looked more connected than it has in recent weeks. Out of possession, the first press worked in coordinated waves rather than isolated sprints. In possession, there was patience to move Villa from side to side, wait for gaps to open, and then accelerate decisively. The scoreline reflects that discipline. Two goals on the night, no concessions, and very few moments where Villa were allowed to build momentum. That is what the group will take into the next training session. Not the volume of outside commentary, but the evidence that the plan works when everyone sticks to principles.
Van Dijk’s broader point about the environment around the game also rings true. There are more platforms than ever and the loudest takes travel fastest. It is easy to label senior figures as the root cause when a team hits a dip. It is much harder to watch closely, to separate form from structure, and to judge the day-to-day work that supporters do not see. Inside the camp the message is different. Focus on the next drill. Focus on the next passage of play. Help the teammate next to you. From that perspective, the Villa game was valuable because it offered clear, positive feedback. The build-up patterns looked clean. The distances between the lines were compact. The decision making in the final third was more precise. Those are the practical details a captain will point to when setting standards.
This is also the context in which Arne Slot’s staff are sharpening the team’s identity. The intention is a high-engagement style that presses in numbers, circulates the ball with tempo, and breaks lines through smart movement rather than forcing the game. You could see the coaching points on the pitch. Wingers pinning full backs to open half-spaces for onrushing midfielders. Full backs choosing their moments to invert or overlap depending on Villa’s block. The double effect is control without losing threat. For a captain, this is fertile ground for leadership. The clearer the framework, the easier it is to demand alignment and keep emotions steady when matches become tense.
All of this flows into a bigger week. Liverpool have not enjoyed many comfortable stretches lately, so a result like this one arrives as both relief and reference. Confidence does not magically appear. It grows from nights where the group executes and then repeats the good habits. That is the message Van Dijk keeps returning to. Do not get caught by the swirl around the club. Do the work. Hold each other to the level required. The Villa performance is a concrete checkpoint along that path.
Next comes Real Madrid on Tuesday, a different kind of test. Madrid bring control in midfield, experience across the back line, and the usual threat in transition. For Liverpool, the keys will be familiar. Win duels in the middle third. Protect the spaces behind the full backs. Be clean with the first and second pass after regaining possession so that counters turn into sustained attacks rather than one-and-done breaks. Set pieces could matter as well, especially with Van Dijk’s presence and timing in both boxes. This is where leadership becomes visible even to a neutral. Quick resets after chances are missed. Clear communication on defensive restarts. The ability to lift the group for one more repeat sprint in minute eighty-five.
Whatever the external narrative, the captain’s approach does not change. He will judge himself on how well he calibrates the line, how clearly he talks teammates through pressing triggers, whether he wins first balls without leaving holes, and whether he keeps the collective calm when matches tilt. That is why he shrugs off the noise. Not because opinions do not matter, but because the best answer is consistency. The Liverpool dressing room will read the Villa tape, carry forward the good habits, and try to add another step in the right direction at Anfield on Tuesday night.
Updated: 01:04, 2 Nov 2025
