Liverpool’s anger at Virgil van Dijk’s loss was exposed on Tuesday when Jorginho Wijnaldum accused the goalkeeper Jordan Pickford From being “totally stupid” and Everton’s “totally unacceptable” approach to the Merseyside derby. Jürgen Klopp has clearly said he shares his players ’opinion.
The Liverpool coach and midfielder are in Amsterdam for the opening match of the Champions League against Ajax on Wednesday, but their Merseyside rivals were the main focus – and goal – of a combat press conference. Vinaldum said Liverpool’s players fell asleep on Saturday night after Van Dijk Anterior cruciate ligament damage And it remains shattered after four days. The Dutch international, who is a close friend of his fellow countryman, did not try to hide the impact of the defender’s absence on Liverpool nor the feelings within the team about what happened during. Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
Wijnaldum said, “We are still devastated and I think this was different from the usual. The way it happened was very difficult for us. Everyone still had a really bad feeling about it. When we were talking to the players after Saturday, none of the players slept because of What happened with Virgil, and like I said, the way it happened. It’s really hard to bear and hard on the team.
“We’re upset. The way Pickford took part in the challenge was totally stupid in my opinion. I think he didn’t want to hurt Virgil the way he hurt him, but the way he handled basically wasn’t interested in what happened after the intervention.”
“We had a lot of matches against Everton And in my opinion, they are very distant in the matches we play against them. We know it’s a Derby and everyone wants to win the derby so sometimes it is a little over the top but it was too much. Not only was his interference, we can talk about Richarlison’s interference on Thiago that was also bad. This is what bothered me most and I think most of the other guys too.
“Accidents can always happen in football. You can be lucky to step in and get someone hurt, but the way they do that is totally unacceptable. It makes it difficult for them not to be punished. In this case, Pickford is not penalized after watching the videos.”
Van Dijk will miss the majority of the season as a result of a right knee injury, which requires surgery, while Thiago was left on Merseyside as a precaution after suffering a minor knee problem in the foul that resulted in Richarlison’s expulsion. Merseyside Police are investigating threats against Everton players on social media.
Liverpool They are also angered by the authorities’ conflicting explanations of how video assistant technology was used at Goodison and have requested a review of the Premier League, although Everton has come under the most severe criticism from Klopp as well.
Liverpool manager, who is also without Joel Matip against Ajax“A couple of days ago something happened that shouldn’t have happened in a football match. It wasn’t the first time and it probably wouldn’t be the last time. I see he is similar to the two players. It was hard to accept both challenges, let me just say it like this,” he said.
“What we can do is try to change that kind of thing. It’s really difficult for us because Virgil is our kid and has nothing to do with Virgil’s quality. Yes, he’s a world-class player and we’ll miss him, but we also miss Oxlade and injuries happen in football, often in Challenges when two players try to play the ball This was not the case with these two challenges which makes it different and difficult.
“In this game, there were some things that came together. Firstly, the ref doesn’t see it. Usually Michael Oliver is an excellent referee but why didn’t he see him I don’t know because he had better vision. Then VAR forgets the rules. It’s not that I want to punish every player. “But this is something we all agree on – if you do something wrong, you have to deal with the consequences. At this moment there are only two people dealing with the consequences: Virgil van Dyck and Thiago Alcantara.”
Liverpool’s visit to Amsterdam is the first club-competition encounter since Ajax’s famous 7-3 aggregate victory in the 1966-1967 European Cup, when the all-round football vision of Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff stunned the England champions. Bill Shankly was so impressed afterwards that he visited the Ajax dressing room to shake hands with all of their players.
Erik Ten Hag’s side – who officially remained the Dutch champions after abandoning the 2019-20 season – are second in the Dutch league, and the coach believes Liverpool’s style will not change as a result of Van Dijk’s absence.
Ten Hag said: ‘Liverpool will be no different.’ “Liverpool always play the same. Their principles are reached and they can switch easily with the quality they have. The quality of man A can turn into man B. The whole team will not change because Virgil van Dijk is not there.”
The teams would have met in the 2019 final, of course, had Ajax not surrendered to Lucas Moura’s goal in the 96th minute for Tottenham in the semi-final second leg in Amsterdam. “It was great to play against them in the Final,” said their captain, former Southampton striker Dusan Tadic. “We had a bigger chance than Tottenham, that’s for sure.”
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