Liverpool saved embarrassment against Villarreal on Tuesday evening with an important comeback win in front of the home faithful at Anfield.

The Spanish outfit had gone 2-0 up within 29 minutes but a brace from Alexis Mac Allister and finish from Ronald Araujo handed the hosts a lead, before Florian Wirtz made it 4-2 to put the result beyond doubt.

The win will mean that a rocky start to the fixture is easily forgotten, but Liverpool cannot afford to begin games sloppily. Worringly, it was the ever-trustworthy Virgil Van Dijk who was at the heart of the errors.

Virgil Van Dijk at fault for poor Liverpool start

Much of Liverpool's success in recent years has been built upon the reliability of Van Dijk at the heart of the defence. Ever since arriving from Southampton for £75 million in January 2018.

However, the Dutchman is not the player he once was. An easy header back to goalkeeper Alisson was needlessly fluffed by the veteran. It was the first time that Liverpool had ever conceded a goal following a Van Dijk error.

Speaking on Prime Sport, Alan Shearer said:

"Liverpool's back four made an absolute mess of it after 30 or 40 seconds, and an absolute nightmare from Van Dijk. A clear header, you can see what he's trying to do.

"It wasn't a great clearance from Alisson, and then the ball gets played over the top by [Villarreal], and really under no pressure at all, Van Dijk just tries to guide it back to Alisson and gets it all wrong. And then the touch down, and you're thinking can he finish it off, and he did it brilliantly."

Liverpool should sign Nottingham Forest man Murillo

Liverpool fans won't feel the need to come with pitchforks and call for Van Dijk's resignation; the player still provides so much stability - but the Reds must think about the future of their defence.

Earlier this month, Football Insider named Liverpool as one of the clubs in the race to sign Nottingham Forest centre-back Murillo, who is believed to be valued around £70 million. While there are links with the likes of Finn Jeltsch, signing a proven Premier League star in their prime is a no-brainer. Murillo is just 24 years old and is ready to make the step up to Champions League football.

He's a great ball-player and has been one of the league's top players in defensive contributions over recent seasons. Over the 2024/25 campaign, he ranked second among Premier League defenders for clearances (186), fifth for headed clearances (84) and third for blocks (40).

Speaking about the player last year, Forest teammate Joe Worrall said: “He’s quick, strong, can head it, reads danger really well. I think that’s something that you watch for with players who are good with the ball who play centre-back.

"They dribble with it and they pass it and whatever, but can they defend? He can read danger. He’s in the right place at the right time. It’s no fluke – he just knows, it’s something that he’s checking.”

Those are tantalising words for Liverpool fans. Van Dijk can't keep up his heroics forever - and indeed errors are creeping in. There feels no need to look further than Murillo.