Liverpool fell behind inside five minutes after captain Virgil van Dijk was penalised for handball, much to the skipper’s dismay
Stephen Killen Senior Football Writer
20:55, 26 Nov 2025
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was penalised for handball against PSV Eindhoven.(Image: PA)
Steven Gerrard and Steve McManaman were in agreement that it was the right decision to award PSV a penalty for Virgil van Dijk’s handball. The 34-year-old was penalised by Spanish referee Alejandro Hernandez after an in-swinging corner was handled by the defender.
Van Dijk’s hand was raised well above his head, and he protested that he was obstructed from the set piece, which contributed to his hand being in an unnatural position; however, neither the official nor VAR was interested. Ivan Perisic stepped up and sent Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way to give the Eredivisie giants the lead after five minutes.
The two Liverpool icons were in the studio at Anfield to dissect the big talking points from the Reds’ Champions League showdown. Both agreed that there could be no complaints from the hosts.
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McManaman said: “Considering what we spoke about before the game. Only Virgil will be able to tell you what he thought because it looked like his left arm was being held by [Jerdy] Schouten, and his right arm shoots up. It’s a penalty; you really can’t contest it. There’s only one person who’ll tell us what’s going through his mind at that specific moment.”
Gerrard added: “I don’t think there was enough in it for that kind of reaction. I think the penalty was quite clear. Perisic steps up with experience and puts them one in front. It was a nightmare start for Liverpool from the off.”
But Liverpool responded and put the visitors under pressure before hitting back. Cody Gakpo, against his former club, weaved his way inside before seeing his shot parried in the direction of Dominik Szoboszlai, who was in the right place at the right time to slot into an empty net.
It was the perfect response from Liverpool after going behind. The Croatian’s penalty meant that Arne Slot’s side have gone behind in nine out of their last 12 matches with their defensive problems persisting.
But Liverpool found their level and pushed for a second with Gakpo going close before Hugo Ekitike and Virgil van Dijk were denied before the interval.
McManaman continued: “Liverpool have responded since then, they’ve been excellent. Everything we questioned in the pre-match, the commitment, the battles, they’ve effectively won from 10 minutes on.”
Gerrard was pleased to see Liverpool respond after Saturday’s dismal defeat to Forest. He said: “It was the punch in the face they needed to wake them up.
“This is the aggressive play that they need to see more often, Gakpo cuts inside and gets a shot off, Szoboszlai deserves that because he’s been excellent for Liverpool.
“Gakpo is so sharp, so quick, the goalkeeper gets down well but parries it into the path of Szoboszlai. That’s the positions he wants to see himself in because he’ll be getting judged on goals at the end of the season and they’re the sorts to get you into double figures.”
Liverpool need a win against Peter Bosz’s side because a draw, with results going against them, would see them drop into the playoff positions after five matches.
PSV’s visit was the penultimate home match of the League Phase for the six-time Champions League winners before they host Qarabag on January 28 to close out the qualification stage.
Before then, they have tricky away ties against Inter Milan and Marseille.
