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.”

Ruben Amorim defended his approach after Manchester United were held to a 2–2 draw at Nottingham Forest, a result that stopped the club’s run of consecutive wins. He said he feared bringing on another striker late in the game might have done more harm than good.

Amorim made attacking changes by introducing full backs Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui while leaving Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee among the substitutes. He replaced Diogo Dalot and Leny Yoro as he looked to create different crossing angles and movement from the flanks.

“Sometimes, if you put more strikers on, I don’t feel we are going to play better,” Amorim explained. “If you see Diogo Dalot, many times with space to make a cross but he has the right foot and is always coming inside, without space…

“With Patrick, we are going to do the same thing but, when you have the ball, got to the side and cross from the spaces there. Because, if you want to come inside, Matheus Cunha is always there to receive the ball.

“If you see the start of the second half, Leny is always the one with the space to run with the ball. Nous is a full back so I try to use the characteristics of the player. It’s not the quality because we have the quality on the bench.

“Also, if I stop the game all the time, I have the feeling I am going to break something. We were going to improve in the second half so the feeling was not to change anything.

“I know Amad can do much better, he is really dangerous one-on-one so, sometimes, we expect it just from that one guy. He was not doing a great game for us but managed to score. He has the potential to do so much better and we lost two points today.

“If [Kobbie] Mainoo and Mason Mount was there, also Josh [Zirkzee] and then you have to imagine the game. Josh is better like a little bit like Cunha, playing between the lines. If you see the game, we need a guy who needs to be inside the box. Ben [Šeško] is the best one to do that.

“Sometimes, it’s the characteristics of the game and they know that it’s just the moment. We try to do our best, it’s nothing to do with the quality on the bench. We have a lot of games where that happens.”

Amad Diallo’s late volley salvaged a point but the young winger was subdued after the final whistle, focusing on the draw rather than the quality of the finish.

“I don’t know if it is Goal of the Season,” he said. “We are really disappointed to go home with one point.

“It’s always difficult to play Nottingham Forest. We wanted to win this game coming from three in a row. We are a bit disappointed because we go home with one point. But we will learn from this.

“I think we have confidence now. We believe in the manager and we believe in the system. We are training to do the best. Everyone is now focused. We had three wins in the row and we wanted to make it four and were unlucky.

“We are doing things step by step and we believe in the manager like he believes in us. Every game for us is like a final. We wanted to bring this team to the top level. We wanted to win this game and we are disappointed as a team.”

Amad Diallo’s late volley produced a stunning equaliser as Manchester United salvaged a 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, extending the club’s unbeaten run to four games. The leveller arrived from outside the penalty area after a half-cleared corner and gave United a share of the points despite a spirited Forest comeback.

The match turned on a controversial moment in the first half when Forest players argued the ball had gone out before the corner that led to Casemiro’s free header. Casemiro’s goal was the opener and was matched by two second-half strikes from the home side.

Morgan Gibbs-White levelled with a header from Ryan Yates’s cross, and Nicolo Savona capitalised on a loose ball after a failure to deal with an aerial challenge to put Forest 2-1 up. The decision that allowed the first goal appeared to galvanise the home team and set the tone for an intense second period.

United threatened repeatedly; Bruno Fernandes hit the post from distance and Callum Hudson-Odoi blazed a low effort wide. From a corner that was half-cleared, the ball found Amad on the edge of the box and his volley arrowed into the bottom-right corner to secure the draw and take United fifth in the Premier League.

Individual contributions were notable. Casemiro produced a combative display and scored the opening goal. Bruno Fernandes offered variety and range in his passing and was unlucky not to score. Amad, who had mixed defensive moments earlier, delivered with superb technique for the finishing strike. Goalkeeper Senne Lammens finished with a 5.6 rating and completed 61% of his passes.

Match statistics underlined a busy evening: Forest 41% possession, Man Utd 59%; expected goals 1.92 to 1.15 in Forest’s favour; total shots Forest 17, United 18; shots on target 3 and 7 respectively. The draw left both teams with plenty to consider, the controversy and the late drama ensuring the fixture will be debated in the days ahead.