Liverpool v Everton incident shocks: ‘I’ve never seen Virgil van Dijk ever do that’
Virgil van Dijk made an error so uncharacteristic during the Merseyside Derby it left Paul Merson in shock at the Liverpool star.
It’s not often you see the Reds captain break sweat during a game, let alone make mistakes, however Van Dijk could have cost Liverpool two huge points in their bid for the Premier League title on Wednesday night (2 April).
Luckily for Arne Slot’s men, they came away with all three-points in the Merseyside Derby thanks to a well crafted goal between Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.
The result sees them restore their 12 point gap at the top of the table, following Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Fulham at the Emirates a day ago.
Former Arsenal midfielder Merson, was convinced that Beto was nailed onto score when Van Dijk missed his clearance and allowed the striker through on goal in the first half, only to see the forward hit the post to spare the Dutch centre-back’s blushes.
Beto caused problems for Van Dijk throughout the game
At 8.32pm on 2 April live on Sky Sports Soccer Special, Merson shouted “Goal! Oh no!” over his fellow pundits when Beto broke away from Van Dijk with ease before missing a one on one with Caoimhin Kelleher, saying: “Oh it should be 1-0 Everton. [Abdoulaye] Doucoure goes to put Beto away, he doesn’t do it well enough but he’s still away. But Van Dijk comes across.
“He goes to kick the ball, misses it completely! And all of a sudden Beto’s in one on one with the keeper, hits it past the keeper, I shout ‘Goal!’ and it hits the post and bounces back.
“Oh my… I’ve never seen Virgil van Dijk ever do that in my life, he’s gone to kick it and swiped and misses the ball completely. Beto’s one on one, big chance, Arsenal fans, no.”
The Gunners would have been hoping for a slip-up from the Premier League leaders in order to close the gap after beating Fulham 2-1 the night before, but it wasn’t to be.
Liverpool on the verge of lifting the Premier League
Football Insider verdict
The result from the Merseyside derby was always going to prove vital for Liverpool in their hunt for the title this season, with this result putting them within touching distance.
Van Dijk has been imperious at the heart of Liverpool’s defence this term, but when he needed a stroke of luck following a mistake, he fell on the right side of it when Beto failed to capitalise.
Liverpool start their next five fixtures with an away trip to Fulham on Sunday [6 April] and have three away games during this period.
| Liverpool next five fixtures | Home or away |
| Fulham | Away |
| West Ham | Home |
| Leicester | Away |
| Tottenham | Home |
| Chelsea | Away |
Slot will be delighted with the impact from Jota against Everton, with the forward bagging his first goal since 14th January in the club’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forrest.
Keeping Jota’s scoring touch going will be vital for Liverpool going into the business end of the season, with the side becoming too reliant on Mohammed Salah in recent times.
Without the Champions League or domestic cups as a distraction and depending on other results, the earliest Liverpool can wrap up the Premier League title is in their away fixture against almost relegated Leicester City.