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Liverpool’s fury at losing Virgil van Dijk was exposed on Tuesday when Georginio Wijnaldum accused goalkeeper Jordan Pickford of being “completely stupid” and Everton of a “completely unacceptable” approach to the Merseyside derbies. A clearly furious Jurgen Klopp said he shared his players’ opinion.
The Liverpool coach and midfielder are in Amsterdam for the Champions League opener against Ajax on Wednesday, but it was their rivals from Merseyside who were the main focus and target of a combative press conference. Wijnaldum said the Liverpool players endured a sleepless night on Saturday after Van Dijk injured an anterior cruciate ligament and remained devastated four days later. The Dutch international, a close friend of his compatriot, did not try to hide the impact of the defender’s absence at Liverpool or the feelings in the squad from what happened during Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
Wijnaldum said: “We are still devastated and I think this was different than normal. The way it happened was very difficult for us. Everyone still has a bad feeling about it. When we were talking to the players after Saturday none of the players had fallen asleep because of what happened with Virgil and, as I said, because of the way it happened. It is very difficult to accept and difficult for the team.
“We are upset. The way Pickford accepted the challenge was completely stupid in my opinion. I think he didn’t want to hurt Virgil the way he hurt him, but the way he took the tackle basically didn’t care about what happened after the tackle.
“We had a lot of games against Everton and, in my opinion, they take it too far in the games we play against them. We know it’s a derby and everyone wants to win a derby, so sometimes you go a bit too far, but it’s too much. It wasn’t just his input, we can talk about Richarlison’s input on Thiago, which was also unpleasant. That’s what bothered me the most and I think most of the other players did too.
“Accidents can always happen in football, you can be unlucky with a tackle and injure someone, but the way they were doing it is completely unacceptable. It makes it more difficult for them not to be punished. In this case, Pickford is not punished after watching the videos. “
Van Dijk will miss most of the season as a result of the injury to his right knee, which requires surgery, while Thiago has remained in Merseyside as a precaution after suffering a minor knee problem in the foul that caused the expulsion of Richarlison. Merseyside police are investigating threats made to both Everton players on social media.
Liverpool are also furious at the conflicting explanations authorities have given for how VAR was used at Goodison and called for a review from the Premier League, although Everton also received the fiercest criticism from Klopp.
The Liverpool manager, who is also without Joël Matip against Ajax, said: “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 won’t be the last time. I see it similar to my players. Both challenges were difficult to accept, let me put it that way.
“What we can all do is try to change this kind of thing. It is very difficult for us because Virgil is our boy and it has nothing to do with the quality of Virgil. Yes, he is a world class player and we will miss him, but we also miss Oxlade and injuries happen in soccer, very often in challenges when both players are just trying to play the ball. That was not the case in these two challenges and it makes it so different and difficult to take on.
“In this game there were some things that came together. First of all, the referee doesn’t see it. Michael Oliver is an excellent referee on the whole, but I don’t know why he didn’t see him because he had the best eyesight. So the VAR forgets the rules. Not that I want to punish all players, but it is something we all agree on: if you do something wrong, you have to deal with the consequences. Right now there are only two people dealing with the consequences: Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Alcântara ”.
Liverpool’s visit to Amsterdam is the first competitive meeting between the clubs since Ajax’s famous 7-3 aggregate victory in the 1966-67 European Cup, when the Total Soccer vision of Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff stunned the champions. English. Bill Shankly was so impressed after he visited the Ajax locker room to shake hands with all of their players.
Erik ten Hag’s team, which officially remain Dutch champions after the 2019-20 season was dropped, ranks second in the Eredivisie, and the head coach believes Liverpool’s approach will not change as a result of the absence. by Van Dijk.
“It is not going to be a different Liverpool,” said Ten Hag. “Liverpool always play the same. Their principles are ingrained and can easily change with the quality they have. The quality of Man A can change to Man B. The whole team will not change because Virgil van Dijk is not present. “
The teams could have met in the 2019 final, of course, if Ajax had not succumbed to Lucas Moura’s 96th-minute goal for Tottenham in the second leg of the semi-finals in Amsterdam. “It would have been nice to play them in the final,” reflected their captain, former Southampton striker Dusan Tadic. “We would have had a better chance than Tottenham, that’s for sure.”
