‘So risky’ – Liverpool player blasted for ‘astonishing’ act in first few minutes against PSV
Liverpool got off to the worst possible start in their Champions League clash against PSV Eindhoven tonight, and the chief culprit for the game’s first big talking point was a surprising name.
Inside the first five minutes at Anfield, the away side won a corner kick from which Virgil van Dijk bafflingly decided to thrust his arm into the air, and once it made contact with the ball, it was inevitable that the Spanish referee would point to the penalty spot.
The Reds captain complained to the official that he was being held by an opponent, but his pleas fell on deaf ears and Ivan Perisic made no mistake from 12 yards to give the visitors an early lead.
Van Dijk blasted for concession of early penalty
Many of the press pack in attendance at Anfield had no sympathy with the Liverpool defender, instead calling him out for his handball offence.
Sky Sports reporter Adam Bate observed: “Van Dijk was complaining about the corner and then complaining even more about the penalty award but it is an astonishing handball, one of the easiest calls you will see for a referee. Liverpool under real pressure again.”
For BBC Sport, Jess Anderson wrote: “What was Virgil van Dijk thinking?! I think he was waving for a foul but you can’t really get away with doing that mid-jump can you? So risky.”
Image via TNT Sports
What was the Liverpool captain doing?
There may have been slight contact on Van Dijk when the corner kick was delivered, but why on earth did the Liverpol captain have his hand raised so high when there was a plausible chance that it could strike the ball in mid-air?
In the Reds’ current plight, they need their most experienced players to lead by example and set the right tone immediately from kick-off. Unfortunately, our usually rock-solid skipper had an uncharacterisic brainfart within the first five minutes.
Thankfully the scores were soon levelled by Dominik Szoboszlai, but for all the external pressure which has been heaped on Arne Slot, the head coach can’t legislate for daft mistakes from his charges on the pitch.
Van Dijk’s difficult night continued when he was booked in the 17th minute for a late challenge on Ismael Saibari, with the Liverpool centre-back enduring one of his most error-strewn performances in his eight years at Anfield in the first half tonight.
It’s not what we’ve come to expect from the 34-year-old, but it’s a harsh lesson learned from a man whose overall legendary status at LFC is beyond question.
