Virgil van Dijk has admitted he has plenty to say about the guilty verdict handed down to Manchester City, but warned fans they will have to wait to hear his true thoughts.
In City’s first game since being formally charged with massive financial misconduct between 2009 and 2018, Enzo Maresca’s side roared to a 3–0 win over Van Dijk’s Liverpool away at Anfield, where the antics in the stands were just as entertaining as the action on the pitch.
It all led to an uncomfortable atmosphere, on which Van Dijk insisted he would not be drawn as the world waits for the outcome of City’s appeal.
“The only thing I can say, because it’s ongoing, is that I have really enjoyed the rivalry,” Van Dijk explained after the game.
“But that is on the pitch, what has happened off the pitch is a totally different story. Because it’s still ongoing, it’s not a good idea for me to comment on this. When it’s properly settled I will definitely share my comments on it but, for now, let’s wait and see.”
Van Dijk Questions Refereeing in Frustrating Defeat
The 3–0 scoreline is a harsh reflection for Liverpool who, for the first hour, were going toe-to-toe with their opponents in an even encounter. A second yellow card for Ryan Gravenberch, who had been among Liverpool’s top performers up to that point, undoubtedly changed the game.
“I think the first half was good on our side, we showed a lot of intensity,” Van Dijk reflected. “We could have done maybe better on some occasions where we got on the break with them. I don’t think there were massive chances, to be fair, but I think we showed that we wanted to win. We had a lot of intensity; that was the bare minimum.
“Second half, we tried to do the same. Unfortunately, the red card obviously changed a big part of the game, especially when you concede that quickly afterwards as well.”
The nature of Gravenberch’s dismissal was frustrating for Van Dijk, but so was what he felt was an inequality from the official.
“I think it was interesting there was also a couple of occasions where players were asking for different yellow cards—we had one in the first minute that was cautioned by it, Ronald Araújo,” Van Dijk argued. “Others weren’t cautioned.
“The matter of fact is we end up with 10 men and then concede pretty quickly after that. Then it becomes a very difficult game against them again.”
Liverpool will get the chance to respond on Wednesday with a trip to Austrian side LASK in the Champions League, with a tricky away meeting with Brentford lined up for Saturday.
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