“If you are in bad form, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad player” – Rio Ferdinand defends Liverpool star

Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand defended Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk when asked whether the Netherlands international has fallen off lately.

Ferdinand was asked to pick between Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias and Van Dijk in a recent rapid fire this or that session with talkSPORT. Although the former footballer picked Dias, he claims the ex-Southampton defender has been brilliant for the last five years.

Van Dijk has registered five appearances in the Premier League this season, managing no clean sheets and a tackle success rate of 20%. The centre-half also received a red card in Liverpool's clash against Newcastle on August 27.

When asked whether the defender's form has dropped off, Ferdinand responded saying (via talkSPORT):

"I think form is form. If you are in bad form, it doesn't mean that you are a bad player, he is obviously still a great player. I think Van Dijk has been brilliant but now Ruben Dias is top."

In the past, the 32-year-old has been pivotal to some of Jurgen Klopp's achievements at Liverpool. He helped his side secure the Premier League trophy in the 2019-20 season while managing to win the Champions League the season prior.

Van Dijk joined Anfield from Southampton in January 2018 for a reported fee of £75 million. Since moving to Liverpool, he's completed 228 appearances, scoring 19 goals and providing 14 assists across all competitions.

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"It doesn't look well" - Virgil van Dijk expresses disappointment over VAR after Liverpool loss to Tottenham

Virgil van Dijk (via Getty Images)

The Liverpool defender expressed his disappointment with VAR after the Reds suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night (September 30).

During the match, the Netherlands international's side were on the receiving end of two red cards to Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones. Although reduced to nine men in the 69th minute, Liverpool held on to the 1-1 scoreline until a late Joel Matip own goal in the 96th minute.

Despite the red cards being a matter of debate, Van Dijk expressed his concerns over the VAR decision to disallow Luis Diaz an opener for offside. The PGMOL, however, later admitted to an error from the video assistant, stating that the goal should've stood.

After the match, Van Dijk said (via GOAL):

"The VAR should be absolutely clear and obvious with everything they're deciding on. I've seen the still [image of Diaz's goal] back, I think on live TV there were no lines being shown."

"It's all a bit strange, I don't know who was in the VAR room and making that decision. It's not a good thing, it doesn't look well either."

Jurgen Klopp's side are now fourth in the Premier League table with 16 points. They face a tricky away test against Brighton on Sunday in their next league match (October 8).