Van Dijk left looking 'more uncomfortable than ever' after Slot decision

Martin Macdonald

• 9 Apr 2026 06:01 CDT
• 4 min read

News

Jamie Carragher says a decision from Arne Slot has led to Virgil van Dijk seeming the most "uncomfortable" he has ever looked in a Liverpool shirt.

The Reds took on reigning Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening and succumbed to a 2-0 defeat after a goal in each half from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The scoreline could have been bigger in favour of the Parisians, though, as Liverpool stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili made a few excellent saves, while the referee failed to award what looked like a stonewall penalty for the home side in the dying minutes.

The Premier League side failed to register a single shot on target and only accumulated an xG of 0.18.

Slot made the controversial decision to play an untested five-man backline against the might of PSG, with Milos Kerkez, Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jeremie Frimpong all going man-for-man with the attack of Luis Enrique's side.

The defenders looked unsure of themselves and were regularly pulled out of position by PSG's constant rotation.

Konate, in particular, had another game to forget in what has been a dreadful season overall for the big centre-back.

Carragher concedes that Van Dijk was again not helped by Konate's performance on Wednesday, but thinks the Dutchman looked extremely uncomfortable in the 5-4-1 system.

“The manager has tried something but he’s got it massively wrong tactically, how he went about it,” Carragher said on CBS.

“It’s easy for me to say that after the event, but that’s what we do — we’re pundits, we speak after the game.

“They were actually more open with the back five than they would be with a back four because they went man-to-man all over the pitch and the three centre-backs had to cover the width of the pitch.

"The gulf between the two teams was absolutely startling." 😳@Carra23 reacts to the gap in quality between PSG and Liverpool 👇 pic.twitter.com/7YodNrkKCm

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 8, 2026

“Defenders were jumping into midfield, there was no one to mark and Virgil van Dijk, at 34 years of age, was having to run in there and across.

“He couldn’t do it. People have criticised Van Dijk for his performances this season, but I think it’s been harsh. He plays every game, and the fella next to him has been awful all season — and poor again tonight. Konaté makes a mistake every game, so that’s not easy to play alongside.

“I still think he’s been one of Liverpool’s better players, Virgil van Dijk. But tonight, in that back three, I have never seen him so uncomfortable in a Liverpool shirt in my life.

“I think he will be pleading with Arne Slot to never play that system again because he found it so tough."

Carragher confessed that PSG were simply brilliant at the same time, however.

“But what I must also say — it’s not just Liverpool getting it wrong tactically — PSG were absolutely out of this world," he added.

"The biggest compliment I can give them is that it was like watching Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.”

Liverpool head into the second leg next week knowing they must overcome a two-goal deficit against PSG at Anfield.

As for Van Dijk, he has a contract with Liverpool until the summer of 2027 but there was speculation previously that he could leave, potentially for the Saudi Pro League.

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