Virgil van Dijk is without question one of the greatest centre-backs that Liverpool fans have ever had the pleasure of watching.
However; his involvement in Chelsea’s second goal has been scrutinised by some supporters, as they believe he should have done more to get closer to the ball.
Many have pointed at the lack of sprinting by the Dutch captain as he prioritised marking a man in the middle, rather than aggressively closing down the ball.
Here’s some fan reaction to the Stamford Bridge equaliser:
1.17 why is van dijk jogging fucking sprint across to try block the shot https://t.co/V5KGSm3Fjj
— Enrighz (@Enrighz) January 3, 2022
why tf was van dijk just watching pulisic run through on goal i swear i never seen this dickhead sprint
— Korzan (@KorzanF) January 2, 2022
https://twitter.com/ctr_98/status/1477696083069394954
Van Dijk doesn't sprint for one goal and the whole world explodes
— Aqib (@AqibLFC98) January 2, 2022
Had Mo Salah got in front of his man, Ibou Konate got a toe on the ball, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Jordan Henderson been in a slightly different position, Caoimhin Kelleher got a hand to the shot and yes, our No.4 managed to get closer to the ball, the goal wouldn’t have happened.
Does every goal need that level of scrutiny? Can there not just be an instance where Liverpool concede on an occasion that we could have done better but accept that the ball went in.
It seems far too often that every goal is a major fault of one player, in the opposite way that when we score a goal it is mostly down to the brilliance of our front men.
Poor results breed negativity but this is one of the greatest teams we will ever see and it’s not always necessary to lambaste individuals after every conceded goal, away to the champions of Europe.
You can watch Chelsea’s second goal courtesy of Sky Sports (via @_haragucci):
https://twitter.com/_haragucci/status/1477718735221841928
#Ep28 of The Red Nets Podcast (Special Edition): The Koppies Awards…