Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been accused of not risking “being made to look foolish” by leaving Milos Kerkez to “fend for himself”.

The Reds have lost three times in all competitions this season with a 3-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City, a 1-0 loss to defending champions Arsenal and a narrow 3-2 defeat to Fenerbahce in the Champions League their major blemishes.

Liverpool have not been producing amazing performances but their recent displays have generally been a bit more promising despite a recent two-game run of losses.

The Reds played well against Arsenal as the Gunners survived waves of Reds attacks, while Andoni Iraola’s men were 2-1 up against Fenerbahce before two late goals saw them drop Champions League points.

Liverpool were poor at times defensively against the Turkish side and former Anderlecht and Gent boss Hein Vanhaezebrouck reckons Club Brugge can take advantage of looking after himself rather than the team this season, when the club’s play each other later this month.

Vanhaezebrouck told Het Niuewsblad: “Looking at the schedule, I genuinely believe Club can compete for a spot in the top eight.

“In my view, there is only one truly difficult opponent left. But even against Liverpool, there are opportunities.”

On Van Dijk he added: “As for who should provide defensive cover, that would be Virgil van Dijk—but he won’t do it.

“He doesn’t want to risk being made to look foolish, so he leaves his left-back to fend for himself.”

Club Brugge ‘must avoid is falling behind against Liverpool’

Vanhaezebrouck reckons Club Brugge just need to avoid falling behind against Liverpool when the teams meet on November 25 in Belgium.

He continued: “The one thing you must avoid is falling behind against Liverpool.

“The Reds tend to defend with a high line, which actually suits Club Brugge. However, once they take the lead, as they did against Brighton, they shift gears and sit back to wait for the opposition.

“Club finishes at home against Bodø/Glimt. That could be tricky, but at least they won’t have to travel all the way to the Arctic Circle. Club must be careful not to get ahead of themselves—it’s better to take it one step at a time.

“I believe ten points should be enough to secure a spot in the top 24; that means they only need one more point. To reach the top eight, they’ll likely need to pick up seven or eight points from their remaining four matches.”