Derby daze: Reds feel pain
Liverpool defender van Dijk faces long spell on sideline after reckless clattering from Everton keeper
Virgil van Dijk has been a commanding — even transcendent — presence at the heart of Liverpool’s defence throughout the team’s rise to the top of English and European football in recent years.
In a major concern for the Premier League champions, they might have to learn how to cope without their warrior at the back for quite some time.
Early in what proved a painful Merseyside derby for Liverpool, Van Dijk was the subject of a reckless lunge by Jordan Pickford that saw the Everton goalkeeper clatter into the extended right leg of the Netherlands defender.
Van Dijk roared in agony and, tellingly, stayed down. And that was when Ju¨rgen Klopp knew it was serious.
“Virgil played I don’t know how many games in a row, he plays with pain, but he couldn’t play on and that’s not good,” Klopp said after the 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
Indeed, Van Dijk — English football’s player of the year from 2018-19 who had played every minute of Liverpool’s previous 74 league games, dating back to September 2018 — hobbled off after lengthy treatment.
There was no word from Liverpool on the potential length of his absence, but Van Dijk reportedly was on crutches. Broadcaster beIN Sports said it was believed to be an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Sadio Mane had given Liverpool a third-minute lead, only for Michael Keane to equalise with a towering header at a corner. Mohamed Salah reclaimed the lead for the champions, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin grabbed Everton’s second equaliser by rising to power home a left-wing cross.
Van Dijk might have been marking Keane and Calvert-Lewin for both of those Everton chances. It is potentially a sign of things to come for Liverpool.
Everton dropped points for the first time this season in their fifth match but stayed top, three points above Liverpool.
Manchester City are three points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, after a 1-0 win over Arsenal, while there was finally something to celebrate for Harry Maguire after a tough few months for the Manchester United captain. There was redemption, too, for Bruno Fernandes in United’s 4-1 win at Newcastle.
Maguire scored a fine header for United’s equaliser, days after getting sent off playing for England. He has produced some suspect defending for United this season.
As for Fernandes, he had a penalty saved when the score was 1-1 but scored a brilliant goal after a counterattack in the 86th. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Marcus Rashford added even later goals.
Chelsea’s defensive vulnerability was exposed in a 3-3 home draw with Southampton, who equalised in the second minute of stoppage time through Jannik Vestergaard after having already rallied from 2-0 down.
Timo Werner scored Chelsea’s first two goals, and played in Kai Havertz to make it 3-2, but the hosts were undone by dreadful defending and goalkeeping.