Virgil van Dijk and other Premier League players show solidarity after George Floyd death

Liverpool squad take a knee at Anfield while Manchester United's Marcus Rashford shares powerful message in support of Black Lives Matter

Liverpool and Manchester United players showed their solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in the United States.

Liverpool players including Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold shared a photograph on social media of the entire Reds squad taking a knee around the centre circle at Anfield along with the words "Unity is strength".

Earlier, Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford said he feared society was "more divided than ever" in the violent aftermath of Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

Floyd died last Monday after a white police officer held his knee on the handcuffed black man's neck for several minutes.

The shocking incident has sparked protests and riots in cities across the world and sparked strong reaction from the sporting world.

"At a time I've been asking people to come together, work together and be united, we appear to me more divided than ever," said Rashford. "People are hurting and people need answers.

"Black lives matter. Black culture matters. Black communities matter. We matter."

Rashford, 22, has followed his England teammate Jadon Sancho in addressing the issue after the Borussia Dortmund winger said "we shouldn't fear speaking out for what's right".

Sancho displayed a T-shirt with "Justice for George Floyd" written on it after scoring the first of his three goals in Dortmund's 6-1 win over Paderborn on Sunday.