The spotlight shifted from one Liverpool star to another on a difficult night at Anfield. While Mohamed Salah’s struggles have come under scrutiny this season, leading to his second successive start on the bench during Wednesday’s match against Sunderland, it was captain Virgil van Dijk who drew the most attention during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw.

Both Van Dijk, 34, and Salah, 33, signed new two-year contracts in the summer. There was little public doubt at the time about rewarding two players well into their thirties for their contributions to the club’s success.

Since then, however, both have experienced a notable drop in form. Liverpool’s defensive vulnerabilities have been exposed since head coach Arne Slot and the recruitment team invested £450 million in squad changes over the summer that have yet to deliver convincing results.

Van Dijk has lost some of his aura since his high-profile transfer from Southampton in January 2018. Problems within the defence have not helped him. Ibrahima Konate’s dip in performance and Milos Kerkez struggling to settle at left-back have contributed to instability at the back.

The Dutch international also made high-profile errors recently, including a handball that gave away a penalty during Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield. Against Sunderland on Wednesday, Van Dijk lost possession before failing to close down Chemsdine Talbi, whose long-range shot deflected off Van Dijk and beat goalkeeper Alisson for Sunderland’s opening goal in the 67th minute.

This incident highlighted what some consider an ongoing issue: Van Dijk has sometimes turned away from shots instead of blocking them directly. Former England captain Steph Houghton said on BBC Radio 5 Live, “Van Dijk gives the ball away and then he just drops off. It's the wrong decision. He needs to go to the ball. Him not making the decision means that no one else knows what to do.”

Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp added on Sky Sports, “Virgil Van Dijk last season couldn't make a mistake. Every game he was imperious, but right now he's making mistakes and second-guessing himself.”

Despite these criticisms, Van Dijk remains among Liverpool's most decorated players with two Premier League titles, a Champions League victory, an FA Cup win and two EFL Cups as part of his career achievements at Anfield.

This season though his performances have dipped by several metrics: recoveries per game are down compared with previous campaigns while tackles and interceptions have also declined from last year.

Leadership was lacking against Sunderland in what became another uninspired team display. By full-time Van Dijk had even been deployed as an emergency striker as Liverpool searched for answers late on-a sign of desperation mirroring broader issues across the squad.

Slot stuck with almost all of those who ended Liverpool's run of nine defeats from twelve matches by winning away at West Ham United last weekend-Salah again started on the bench before coming on early in the second half but could not provide inspiration this time round. £125m signing Alexander Isak was also quiet after scoring against West Ham days earlier.

Liverpool nearly fell further behind late on when Florian Wirtz equalised thanks to a deflection off Nordi Mukiele following good work from Sunderland substitute Wilson Isidor whose effort was only kept out by Federico Chiesa clearing off his own line after rounding Alisson deep into stoppage time.

Slot acknowledged post-match that things could easily have ended worse for his side given how slow and short of ideas they looked throughout-not helped by Alisson needing first-half heroics to tip Trai Hume's strike onto the bar or Omar Alderete heading against a post after half-time.

Sunderland deserve credit for their approach under manager Regis le Bris after major summer recruitment paid dividends once more; they sit sixth in the table with twenty-three points but left Anfield frustrated not to return home with three.

Liverpool face further questions about their direction as they look ahead hoping for improvement.