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REUTERS: Everton forward Richarlison apologized to Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara for his dangerous defiance of the midfielder towards the end of Saturday’s 2-2 draw in the Premier League.
Thiago eventually got up from Richarlison’s entrance with a red card and created the opening for a goal disallowed late by Jordan Henderson, but later reported an injury.
“Everyone who knows my background knows that I was never a violent player,” Richarlison said in a statement https://www.richarlison.com.br/news-and-events/news/richarlison-se-desculpa-com-thiago -alcntara-e-com-companheiros-aps-expulso-no-derby, and blames his strong onslaught on “pure dedication.”
“I did not enter that dispute with the intention of hurting Thiago … I already sent him a message apologizing and I also do it here publicly. I hope he has not been hurt and that everything is fine.”
Liverpool’s Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk was recalled with injury early in the game following a wild tackle by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said Van Dijk was “not good” and described Pickford’s actions as “not a challenge for the goalkeeper to do.”
Henderson said the England goalkeeper, who went unpunished after the incident, regretted his actions.
“Everybody keeps asking us about it so I guess it’s a red card. It shouldn’t be a good challenge,” Henderson told BT Sport. “To be fair, Jordan came up and apologized to me after the game and (told me) to tell Virgil.”
(Report from Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
