If conceding five goals at home to Real Madrid wasn't enough for Virgil van Dijk, the Liverpool center-back has now been trolled mercilessly live on TV by club icon Jamie Carragher.
Despite going 2-0 up in less than 15 minutes, last season's runners-up threw that tremendous lead away and suffered a humiliating defeat, with both Benzema and Vinicius Jr. scoring braces while Eder Militao also got on the scoresheet.
This was only the first leg of their highly-anticipated round of 16 showdown but the tie already looks to be over. The Reds will head to Santiago Bernabeu in mid-March needing to overturn an eye-catching deficit, with little to no one backing the English giants to pull off a comeback against the reigning champions of Europe.
While there was a lot wrong with Liverpool's performance, especially in the second half, the most concerning element from that defeat was the Merseyside giants' defensive performance.
Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool defender who works as a pundit for Paramount+ during their UEFA Champions League coverage pointed this out, highlighting the third goal that the Reds conceded in particular.
Despite keeping back-to-back clean sheets in their last two Premier League outings, Carragher admitted to being unhappy with his team's defense all season before mocking Van Dijk's current form.
The Dutch center-back went viral a few months ago during an interview with Gary Neville in which he unapologetically admitted that Carragher wouldn't even get into Klopp's current squad. However, Jamie argues that with the way Van Dijk and Co. are performing, he could now replace the 31-year-old in the lineup.
"Virgil van Dijk said I wouldn't get in that back four a few months ago. I think I'd take his place at the moment..." the retired Englishman said during an interesting rant in the post-match analysis. Check out Carragher's full assessment of the defeat in the clip below.
"Virgil van Dijk said I wouldn't get in that back four a few months ago. I think I'd take his place at the moment..."@Carra23 calls Liverpool's defensive display "shambolic" . pic.twitter.com/c9c06mR2cT
— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 21, 2023
Tuesday's defeat was the first time the Reds conceded five goals at home in a European tie, thus showing how damaging and historic this result was. With Liverpool likely to crash out now, the club's odds of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League next season have tremendously declined.
Klopp's men are currently eighth in the Premier League and while his side are seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, the Merseyside outfit have two games in hand, meaning all hope is not yet lost for the Reds.
