Liverpool manager Arne Slot addressed an incident involving Virgil van Dijk after Thierry Henry questioned him following their 3-2 victory over Newcastle at St James’ Park.
Sixteen-year-old Rio Ngumoha scored a last-minute winner for Liverpool after Newcastle had rallied from a 2-0 deficit to level the game.
Newcastle played the entire second half with 10 men after Anthony Gordon was sent off for a dangerous challenge on captain Van Dijk.
Despite being a man down, Eddie Howe’s team fought back strongly, with second-half goals from Bruno Guimaraes and substitute William Osula briefly leveling the match. Newcastle arguably played better overall during the game.
Liverpool’s performance wasn’t their best, but they still managed to secure a win, making it six points from two games in the new Premier League season.
After the match, Slot appeared on Monday Night Football to review the game and was questioned by Henry about Liverpool’s defensive setup during the free kick that led to Newcastle’s equalizer.
Henry said, “Jamie and I noticed something about the free kicks. Most of the time, your defensive line was set low, but on the goal, Van Dijk chose to go high. What was the reasoning behind that? You got punished for it—it’s easy now to criticize—but you consistently defended low, and then suddenly went high?”
Slot responded, “I don’t think it’s fair to blame Virgil alone; it was a team decision. He was in contact with us on the bench, while others were positioned further up the pitch.
“We knew their plan was to target the ‘D’ area. Dan Burn was there challenging for the ball, trying to disrupt them. We faced many tough situations, including second balls, throw-ins, and corners.
“At that moment, because the ball was so deep, we decided it was safer not to concede a second ball inside our 18-yard box. In hindsight, that was the wrong call.”
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