Virgil van Dijk lived up to the ‘calm as you like’ portion of his adoring chant from Liverpool fans as he swatted away Roy Keane’s attempted provocation on Sunday.
After the Reds captain suggested that the dominant home side were the ‘only’ team ‘trying to win’ in the goalless draw against Manchester United at Anfield, the Sky Sports pundit accused him of ‘arrogance’ and childishly took aim at the Merseyside club over their record of league titles since 1990.
Far from being drawn into a war of words, however, the Netherlands defender met such fire with ice when addressing the 52-year-old’s comments afterwards.
Van Dijk responded (via Liverpool Echo): “I like Roy Keane. If he said that, then it’s fine. He is Man United through and through, and I understand he could react like that, but I felt what I said and there is absolutely no arrogance in that.”
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Anyone who’s followed Keane throughout his playing, managerial or punditry career will know that he’s a fiery and irascible character who revels in withering put-downs.
Think back to last April, when he accused Andy Robertson of being a ‘big baby’ for daring to take umbrage at being elbowed in the face by assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis at half-time in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
Van Dijk’s frustration at yesterday’s result was understandable, especially when aired just a few minutes after the final whistle of a game in which the Reds had 34 shots compared to United’s six (Sofascore) but were unable to make it count.
While Keane didn’t need to throw in his ‘one title in 33 years’ dig, he was right in saying that LFC only had themselves to blame for not finding a route to goal at Anfield on Sunday.
The Sky Sports pundit has prompted reactions from numerous figures over the years, but the Liverpool skipper brilliantly swatted the provocation aside. All he’s interested in is playing his part in his team hopefully returning to winning ways against West Ham on Wednesday night.
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