Virgil van Dijk has shared what he told Anthony Gordon after the England international’s foul on the Liverpool captain left Newcastle with ten men.
As many expected, the match at St James’ Park on Monday night was thrilling.
Before the Premier League game, Alexander Isak was the center of attention amid Liverpool’s ongoing interest in signing him.
The Swedish striker was once again omitted from Eddie Howe’s squad in what turned out to be a fiercely contested game, with both sides contributing.
Ryan Gravenberch scored against the run of play at the 35-minute mark, and Newcastle’s situation worsened when Gordon was sent off during first-half stoppage time.
Gordon tried to close down Van Dijk but mistimed his challenge. Initially, referee Simon Hooper showed a yellow card, but after reviewing the incident, he upgraded it to a red, which means Gordon faces a three-match Premier League suspension.
When Hugo Ekitike made it 2-0 for Liverpool early in the second half, the match seemed decided, but Bruno Guimaraes pulled one back for Newcastle ten minutes later.
Then, with just two minutes left in regular time, Newcastle, down to ten men, equalized thanks to a goal from Will Osula.
However, Liverpool had the final say when 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha scored in stoppage time to secure Arne Slot’s team their second win of the season.
After the match, Van Dijk spoke to Sky Sports about both the team’s performance and the red card incident.
He said, “We all know this is a tough place to play. There was a lot of motivation for Newcastle this week. What happened tonight was expected. The disappointing part for us was conceding two set-piece goals, which shouldn’t happen. Overall, though, it’s a great three points, and now we move on to the next game.”
He added, “Set pieces put pressure on us. They’re a quality team. Last season, only a few of the traditional top six teams managed to beat them. It’s always a difficult venue. I enjoy this kind of atmosphere and was looking forward to it. We could have made things easier if we hadn’t given away those set pieces, because it gave them a boost and got the fans behind them. But in the end, we secured the three points and move forward.”
When asked what he said to Gordon before he left the pitch, Van Dijk responded, “I told him if that’s not a sending off, then I don’t understand football. It was odd that the referee had to check the monitor. Unfortunately, these things happen in football. Whether intentional or not, it happened, so we move on.”
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