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Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Liverpool are waiting to find out the extent of the injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Alcantara in the 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday.
Van Dijk was substituted after Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford shot out of his goal and hit the Dutch central defender in the eighth minute.
Thiago, meanwhile, played the full 90 minutes, but Klopp revealed that the Spanish international was uncomfortable after the match after a late challenge on Richarlison’s midfielder, which led to the Brazilian being sent off in the 90th minute.
“When I came off the court, Thiago told me in the red card situation with Richarlison that he thinks he got injured,” Klopp said in his post-game press conference, and both players were sent in to scan their injuries.
“We’ll see if it’s true or not, but if he felt that way then we need to take a look at him.”
When asked about the severity of Van Dijk’s injury, Klopp added: “It’s not good. Virgil played so many games in a row, but he couldn’t keep playing, so it’s not good.”
Van Dijk was offside when trying to score in the derby
Van Dijk was unable to continue at Goodison Park after this challenge.
Van Dijk injured in a clash with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford
Pickford was spared from conceding a penalty, and possibly shown a red card, by a marginal VAR decision that ruled Van Dijk’s shoulder was offside, with Liverpool leading at the time of Sadio Mane’s goal in the third minute.
The England goalkeeper could have been sent off if the VAR had recommended to court referee Michael Oliver to review the incident again, as players can be punished for serious foul play or violent conduct after the whistle blows.
Everton benefited from the absence of Liverpool’s defensive backbone as the hosts drew in the 20th minute.
Adrian was forced to stop Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shot from behind and from the resulting corner the Liverpool goalkeeper put both hands on Michael Keane’s header, but was only able to push him towards the ceiling of the net.
Mohamed Salah scored his 100th goal for Liverpool to put the Reds in front with 18 minutes to go, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header saved a point for Everton.
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Unlike the earlier Pickford incident, there was no VAR pardon for Richarlison’s lunge on Thiago, while Jordan Henderson also thought his injury time goal had beaten Liverpool only to have it ruled out in the tightest of the offside.
Klopp added: “It’s complicated, but we have lost a player in a situation where the VAR was not involved. [Pickford on Van Dijk] and maybe another in red card situation [Richarlison on Thiago], and we have scored a legitimate goal that does not count. Obviously it wasn’t our day, but it was the performance I wanted to see. “
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Klopp: Pickford’s challenge to Van Dijk is a ‘clear penalty’
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had no doubt that his team was wrongly denied a “clear penalty” for England goalkeeper Pickford’s tackle on Van Dijk.
He said: “In the game, that was pretty fast. For me it was a clear penalty that I saw. Then obviously we saw the flag being raised, so I was offside. I still thought the foul was worth seeing but that was no it won’t happen.
“We don’t have power there, we just sit here and discuss it with me. You have to ask other people about it, not me. What can I say?”
Sky sports Expert Gary Neville took to Twitter to say the challenge warranted both a penalty and a red card for Pickford, while former England international Sue Smith in Football saturday He added: “Pickford flew and it’s a terrible challenge for Van Dijk. You can see his knee twist.
“It was given offside, if it wasn’t a penalty and Pickford could have gone for that. It’s a really horrible challenge.”
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