Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk found himself accused of “lazy” defending after Christian Pulisic’s equaliser for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
A ball over the top caught out Liverpool ’s high-line as Pulisic cooly slotted home to complete a quick-fire turnaround.
Pulisic found himself in acres of space to pick his spot - and ex-Reds defender Graeme Souness was baffled as to why Van Dijk did not make more of an effort to get across and block the shot.
Speaking at half-time on Sky Sports, Souness said: “Why has Van Dijk not come across there?
“He’s just running in a straight line back to his goal.
“Come over, come over, come over - he’s not even sprinting.”
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Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink went a step further as he questioned Van Dijk’s effort, adding: “It’s lazy, isn’t it?”
Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, blamed Liverpool’s “obsession” with playing offside and keeping in line as they got caught out.
Carragher said: “They’ve got an obsession, Liverpool’s centre-backs, you see this a lot where they always stay in line with each other.
“They never cover each other - there’s an obsession with playing offside.
“We noticed that right throughout the game, the space between the two centre-backs is too big.
“Initially, his starting position, Van Dijk, because he’s not intense enough to get over, he doesn’t want to cover his other centre-back.
“He stays in the same line, and that’s why he’s too far to get across.”
Early in the second half, Gary Neville on co-commentary suggested Liverpool’s defensive line was “too high” and even Van Dijk looked “uncomfortable”.
The Reds were pulled into a pulsating contest by the high-pace of Chelsea, who came from behind in a frantic first-half after Sadio Mane and Mo Salah had put Liverpool two goals ahead.
