Liverpool
Van Dijk and Rooney Clash Publicly as Liverpool Defend Leadership
A public back-and-forth between Virgil van Dijk and Wayne Rooney follows criticism after Liverpool’s poor run.
The long-standing rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United has spilled into the public sphere with a forthright exchange between Virgil van Dijk and Wayne Rooney. The disagreement began after an underwhelming 3–2 defeat to Brentford, when voices inside Liverpool’s squad and external pundits criticised the champions.
Rooney, an ex-Everton academy graduate and former England captain, questioned the influence of Liverpool’s senior stars on and off the pitch. “They’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season,” Rooney claimed. “I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else.
“I might be wrong on this, but if I was a Liverpool fan or the manager, that would be a big concern for me.”
Van Dijk has been publicly stung by those remarks. After watching from the stands as Liverpool lost their fifth successive domestic fixture against Crystal Palace last Wednesday, he had little opportunity to respond immediately. A win over Aston Villa on Saturday provided a platform for a fuller reply.
Having initially called for calm and pushing back against what he described as “ridiculous takes,” Van Dijk singled out Rooney by name. “I didn’t hear him last year,” the Premier League champion snapped. “No, it doesn’t hurt me to be honest. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things, but I feel that comment is just… I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism.
“That’s my personal opinion. It’s easy to blame the older players but he knows obviously as well as everyone else we do it together trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this and, like I said as well, last year when things go well you don’t hear that at all.”
Van Dijk also added: “There’s no hard feelings.”
Rooney remained firm. “My job now as a pundit is to give my opinions on what I feel,” he told his own podcast from a dimly lit trophy room. “I’m sure if you ask him or Arne Slot, he probably hasn’t been as good as he has been over the last few years. That was my comment which I stick by.”
International
Liverpool keep cautious timeline after Isak omitted from Sweden squad
Isak omitted from Sweden squad; Liverpool cautious on his return, Slot rules him out until April…
Alexander Isak was left out of Sweden’s World Cup playoff squad, a development that confirmed the cautious stance Liverpool have taken over the striker’s comeback. The Sweden omission followed suggestions from his international manager Graham Potter that the playoffs could represent a potential return window, but Potter’s squad for the clash with Ukraine did not include Isak.
Potter accepted the limits of the situation. “There’s nothing we can do about it,” the former Chelsea manager lamented. “It’s sad to lose players due to injuries, it’s like that for all teams.” He added: “But we have a very good group, I believe in the squad and am sure that together we can find good solutions and focus on our task.” Sweden can call upon Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres in Isak’s absence and must beat Ukraine and then the winner of Poland’s semifinal with Albania to reach the 2026 World Cup.
Liverpool’s Arne Slot has repeatedly resisted setting a return date for the club’s record signing and was relieved by the international decision. The club remain focused on a Saturday lunchtime trip to Brighton which will be without Isak.
There was optimism when Isak was seen in an individual session with Liverpool this week, swapping running shoes for boots and getting a feel for the ball. Slot was quick to temper that enthusiasm. “As long as you don’t train with the team yet, you are not ready to play,” Liverpool’s head coach sternly warned, definitively ruling Isak out of any fixtures until April at the earliest.
Slot also stressed the graduated nature of the return. “And as we all know, if you’ve done for months only individual sessions, it’s also quite a step up to train with the team, and when you train with the team it’s quite a step up to play at Premier League intensity or Champions League intensity,” he said.
Those concerns are heightened by a demanding schedule. After Brighton the Reds face Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in a compact period that includes FA Cup and Champions League quarterfinals, plus a Merseyside derby at Everton’s new home before the end of April. With Hugo Ekitiké’s minutes limited, having the option of introducing Isak late in matches could still prove valuable once he is fully ready.
Liverpool
Salah to Miss Brighton as Slot Offers Cautious Timeline for Recovery
Slot confirmed Salah will miss Brighton. Two-week break may aid recovery; return uncertain for club.
Mohamed Salah will not feature against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday after manager Arne Slot declined to guarantee the forward’s return following the international break.
The issue is described as a muscular problem that forced Salah to request permission to leave the pitch and head straight down the tunnel in the previous match. Slot called the sight of Salah walking off “unusual” and confirmed the player would be unavailable for the upcoming game: “As a result of that I think you can expect the outcome. So, [he’s] not available for tomorrow.”
Slot underlined the mixed implications of the schedule. “The good thing for Liverpool and for us is that we go to an international break,” Slot continued. “The bad thing for Egypt is that he can’t go there.” The manager said the injury is not thought to be particularly serious but indicated Salah is likely to need a handful of weeks on the sidelines.
“We are hoping also with what Mo has shown in the past, that he can recover faster than other players might in similar situations because he takes such good care of his body,” Slot continued. “History has shown that he can be earlier back than some others.
“But it’s only two weeks when we go again so let’s hope in that period of time he can be back.”
The international break gives Salah two weeks of focused recovery, but the calendar quickly presents high-stakes fixtures that Liverpool will prefer him to be fit for. April brings a sequence of significant matches: a trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on April 4, the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Paris Saint-Germain on April 8, a Premier League match at Fulham on April 11, the second leg with PSG on April 14 and a further fixture listed for Sunday, April 19.
Salah’s 2025/26 totals stand at 10 goals in 34 games, with an improved return since January of five goals and five assists in 14 appearances in 2026. Slot will be hoping the forward’s proven recovery record allows him to return in time for that crucial April run.
Liverpool
Salah reaches 50 Champions League goals, first African to hit the mark as Liverpool advance
Salah reached 50 Champions League goals, becoming the first African player to do so on Wednesday. 50
Mohamed Salah became the first African player to score 50 UEFA Champions League goals on Wednesday, a milestone that underpinned Liverpool’s progression to the quarterfinals.
The total places him joint 10th on the competition’s all-time list, level with Harry Kane and Thierry Henry. The vast majority of those strikes have come since his arrival at Liverpool in 2017. Two came for Basel and one for Roma. He made only two Champions League appearances at Chelsea and failed to score there.
Salah’s most prolific Champions League campaign was 2017–18, when he scored 10 times as Liverpool reached the final in Kyiv, losing to Real Madrid after he was forced off with a shoulder injury following a controversial early clash with Sergio Ramos.
After a remarkable 2024–25 season, his form has been more ordinary at times. A limited return in October and November resulted in him being dropped, but he produced a decisive performance on Wednesday. Even after an early setback when his penalty was saved, he continued to influence the match; Ekitiké was grateful for the assist, calling his veteran teammate a “legend,” while manager Arne Slot emphasised his mental qualities.
“It says a lot about him after you miss the penalty just before half time. That can sometimes be hard for an individual or for a team,” Slot commented afterwards.
“So, he assisted the first to Hugo, great assist, and then scored a trademark goal, I think, which he scored many of, in this stadium for this club, coming inside, finding the top corner. So, that tells you a lot about his mental strength.”
Salah has failed to start only one of 14 Liverpool fixtures since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in January. That single absence was the weekend’s 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, a deliberate decision to rest him three days before Galatasaray’s visit. “Injury-wise, he was asking for a substitution, not because he thought he had scored enough, but that he felt something, so let’s see where he is for the weekend.”
With Liverpool due to meet Paris Saint-Germain at least twice more this season, Salah can add to his tally. The next inactive players ahead of him are Ruud van Nistelrooy (56) and Thomas Müller (57), with a larger gap to Raúl on 71. Active players nearby include Erling Haaland (57) and Kylian Mbappé (68).
