Van Dijk made mockery of laughable jibe before Liverpool's late heartbreak

30 September 2023 , 18:53

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Van Dijk was left devastated as Liverpool were beaten (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The last time Liverpool went down to 10 men Virgil van Dijk was there in the St James' Park tunnel to welcome their victorious players off the pitch because he'd been the one sent off. This time he was still around to see Diogo Jota go as well.

By then he'd already steered his side through over 45 minutes with 10 men at Tottenham after Curtis Jones was sent off, and then the Portuguese forward went and made life a whole lot harder for his side by getting in the early bath with him.

Liverpool have a fascination with red, after all, and this season it has been flashed in their players faces on four occasions in just seven Premier League matches, with Jones' unfortunate but over the top challenge and Jota's foolish two yellows seeing them deservedly dismissed.

As they showed in that win over Newcastle though, this is a team made of stern stuff. And none of it sterner than Van Dijk, who was superb at the back as the 10 men blocked out Tottenham and then the nine hung on for dear life before Joel Matip's horrendous late slice.

People have made a sport of writing off the Dutch defender in recent times, and while it is true that he is not the same player who turned up at Goodison Park that September 2020 afternoon before Jordan Pickford's intervention, he is by no means past it.

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Van Dijk and Alisson were superb for Liverpool before Matip's late own goal (Shaun Brooks/Action Plus/REX/Shutterstock)

We all know why he did it, but the ex-Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara had laughably left Van Dijk out of a combined XI of the two sides before this game, instead heaping praise on the home side's defenders and Van Dijk's occasional partner.

“I can’t disagree with Alisson in goal. Guglielmo Vicario’s been brilliant for Spurs and made some quality saves last weekend against Arsenal, but you can’t not have Alisson in there. Virgil van Dijk? No! People need to stop living in the past!" said O'Hara.

"I’ll go with Ibrahima Konate and Cristian Romero. Micky van de Ven also gets a mention – he’s been unbelievable since he came in, but he doesn’t get in and Van Dijk doesn’t start for me either. Left-back I’m going with Destiny Udogie over Andy Robertson – 100%. Have you seen how good he is? He’s been unreal for Tottenham this season."

The only thing unreal about Tottenham here was that they kept trying the same things as they ran into Liverpool's massed ranks, and while the Reds had Alisson to thank for two superb saves, it was Van Dijk who almost marshalled them over the line for one of the best Premier League points they'll ever have picked up.

It was a captain's innings and then some, before Matip's late error cost him dearly..

Mark Jones