A Diminished Presence of His Commanding Persona - Van Dijk Battles Waning Influence

The intense spotlight that has fallen upon one elite Liverpool icon turned to another on Anfield's latest disappointing night.

The Egyptian forward has come under fire for his struggles this campaign - and was consigned to the substitutes' bench for the consecutive Premier League game as Sunderland arrived on Wednesday.

But it was captain Virgil van Dijk, a peerless defensive foundation as Liverpool have swept up the complete set of top honors, whose struggles became the focus during the stalemate.

The Veteran Duo and Renewed Terms

Van Dijk, 34, and Salah, 33, both inked new lucrative two-year deals in the summer, with not one Liverpool eyebrow raised at the prospect of handing contracts to a experienced stars much closer to the end of their careers than the start.

In fact, it was a reason for joy - but now there is no avoiding the stark fact that performance has dipped concerningly for both.

Defensive Vulnerabilities and Summer Spending

Liverpool have been vulnerable in defence ever since head coach Arne Slot and the club's transfer committee undertook a £450m summer overhaul that has still to demonstrate anything like value for money.

Concurrently, Van Dijk has started to shed the air of invincibility he has carried since his £75m transfer from Southampton in January 2018.

Van Dijk has not been helped by fellow defender Ibrahima Konate's loss of form, along with Milos Kerkez not finding his feet at left-back. But the esteemed defender has also struggled badly, as demonstrated by his panic-stricken handball that resulted in a penalty in the significant Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield.

A Sequence That Encapsulated The Problem

It was encapsulated in the 67th minute on Wednesday when Chemsdine Talbi gave Sunderland a deserved lead, Van Dijk giving the ball away before standing off and turning away on a 25-yard shot that hit him and floated out of the reach of goalkeeper Alisson.

For a defender of such undoubted greatness, Van Dijk has an curious trait of turning his back on the ball, sometimes to Liverpool's disadvantage.

Ill fortune at the finale, yes, but it was a situation Van Dijk invited with his atypical failure to take charge, Sunderland's Talbi capitalising.

"Van Dijk gives the ball away and then he just retreats. 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."

"Virgil Van Dijk last season was faultless. Every game he was commanding, but right now he's making mistakes and doubting himself."

Performance Metrics and A Leadership Void

As with Salah, a player of Van Dijk's caliber must not be written off after securing two Premier Leagues, the Champions League, the FA Cup and two EFL Cups in a illustrious Liverpool career.

He has, though, looked a pale imitation of his usual dominant persona this season, with the worst recoveries per game during his Liverpool career, while defensive actions are also down on last season.

And, while leadership should not be Van Dijk's exclusive domain alone in a Liverpool team full of experience, it was missing here. No-one was rousing a team that once again looked clueless to grab the game by the throat.

Van Dijk's difficult night, which ended with him being used as the last resort of acting as an last-ditch attacker, was representative of a distinctly poor Liverpool performance - which made Sunday's win at West Ham seem like the outlier rather than the norm.

A Side Devoid of Spark

Slot persisted with the side that stopped a run of nine losses in 12 games at London Stadium, Salah once more starting on the sidelines.

The Egyptian came on at the start of the second half as the Kop turned to him for inspiration. It never came, with £125m Alexander Isak also anonymous after opening his account with his first league goal for Liverpool on Sunday.

Slot would have been under greater pressure had Florian Wirtz's 81st-minute shot not been turned in off Nordi Mukiele to set up what Liverpool hoped would be a grandstand finish.

A late scare came - but at the other end. Liverpool were only saved from humiliation in stoppage time when Federico Chiesa's superb tracking back allowed him to turn Sunderland substitute Wilson Isidor's shot off the line after he had rounded keeper Alisson.

Credit Due and The Road Forward

Slot and his struggling title-holders ultimately had to settle for a draw knowing it could have been worse, with Alisson lucky to turn Trai Hume's shot onto the bar in the first half before Omar Alderete headed against the post after the interval.

Liverpool were slow, unimaginative and short on invention. Even the customary late surge after the equaliser carried scant belief. Displays like this are the reason their title defence has crumbled.

But significant praise for the Reds' struggles on Wednesday must be given to Sunderland, who are being seeing the results for a summer of serious ambition in the transfer market, coupled with the superb management of Regis le Bris.

The Black Cats were positive, self-believing and a genuine threat.

Sunderland are now sixth in the Premier League with 23 points. It is telling of the manner in which they have embraced life in the Premier League that they will be unhappy they left Anfield without adding two more to their tally.

For Slot and Liverpool, it is a case of going back to basics.