Steven Gerrard points finger at Virgil van Dijk after 'desperate' Liverpool defeat to Wolves

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The former Liverpool captain claimed Van Dijk needed to "be stronger" after he was muscled off he ball by Tolu Arokodare for the opening goal in the defeat at Molinuex

Steven Gerrard was critical of Virgil van Dijk's defending in the 2-1 loss to Wolves

Steven Gerrard claimed Virgil van Dijk was “clutching at straws” and said he needs to “be stronger” following his appeals for a foul in the build-up to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ opening goal against Liverpool on Tuesday.

The Reds lost 2-1 at Molineux, a result that could prove damaging in the race for the Champions League places. After a slow start against Wolves, Liverpool failed to control the game in the second half, leading to a chaotic, open encounter late on.

That did not suit Liverpool’s defensive structure, which looked disjointed as the game became more stretched. That was summed by Rodrigo Gomes’ opener, when one long ball was flicked on by substitute Tolu Arokodare, who then laid it into the Wolves scorer. Gomes had ample space to surge into and managed to hold off Ibrahima Konate’s desperate recovery run before poking it past Alisson.

Van Dijk had complained of a foul by Arokodare, after the Wolves striker lightly nudged him off the ball. Gerrard, the former Liverpool captain, felt it was a weak appeal from the current skipper.

“I personally don’t think it’s a foul,” the 45-year-old said on TNT Sports. “I think he [Van Dijk] has got to be a lot stronger in that situation. I also think that Konate could have bailed him out of trouble.

“You are clutching at straws asking for a foul there,” Gerrard continued, while reviewing footage of the clip.

Steven Gerrard was critical of Virgil van Dijk after the defeat to Wolves(Image: TNT Sports)

“You are up against a big strong sub who has come off the bench. He’s the focal point, you know he’s going to be physical and try to dominate you from a physical perspective. You’ve got to be ready for that.

“You've got to stand up and be stronger. I think he'll be slightly disappointed in himself when he watches that back.

“For 65 minutes, Liverpool were desperate tonight and really poor,” the former midfielder added. “They didn't create enough, they didn't play at the right speed or the right tempo. They didn't have enough quality.”

It was another frustrating night for Liverpool(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Asked about the incident after the game, Van Dijk was giving little away. “There has been a lot of speculation in the last couple of weeks about certain fouls being given or not,” he told TNT Sports.

“The ref didn’t give it; that’s the reality and we have to deal with that. They scored the 1-0 and obviously the 2-1 is a massive deflection [off Joe Gomez]. It shouldn’t have come to that point.

“It happened today and for them it happened last week when they played against [Aston] Villa. Today feels very disappointing.”

The defeat means Liverpool missed the chance to draw level on points with Manchester United and Villa, with the latter facing Chelsea on Wednesday. The Blues would move back ahead of Liverpool if they take all three points at Villa Park.