Leboeuf Slams Van Dijk and Salah After Liverpool's Shock Wolves Collapse

Liverpool's visit to Molineux on Tuesday night was supposed to be a straightforward affair. Wolves languished at the foot of the Premier League table, and Arne Slot's men had rattled off three consecutive league victories. Yet somehow, the defending champions departed with a 2-1 loss, courtesy of Andre's injury-time strike in the 94th minute.

It was a performance that left plenty to dissect, not least the displays of two players who have carried Liverpool through their recent resurgence. Virgil van Dijk, for all his reputation as one of the world's elite defenders, was brushed aside by Tolu Arokodare for the decisive goal—a moment that will sting given his status. Mohamed Salah managed to get on the scoresheet but otherwise cut an ineffective figure, most notably when he delayed passing to Dominik Szoboszlai, who was perfectly positioned to restore parity.

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf didn't hold back in his assessment, telling ESPN FC that he failed to recognise some of his former club's players on the evening. "I don't know if we can talk about professionalism, but they don't have the guts that they had before," he remarked.

His criticism of Van Dijk was particularly pointed. "Van Dijk, who is named one of the best defenders in the world, I mean, I have been moved, pushed like, so easy," Leboeuf observed. "I could have done that, as a bad defender that I was. I don't understand that. What's wrong with him?"

The Frenchman extended his critique to the midfield, questioning the performances of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, before returning to Salah's missed opportunity. "He scored a goal today, but you showed the last part they should have given to Szoboszlai, but that was insane," Leboeuf continued. "That's so easy, and that guy knows how to do it, and he was late. He was late on giving the pass, and everything was bad."

It's the sort of defeat that raises uncomfortable questions about Liverpool's consistency when facing supposedly inferior opposition.