Virgil Van Dijk rejected Jordan Pickford’s apology
Regarding the incident that occurred during the Marseyside derby last weekend, Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk reportedly rejected an apology from Jordan Pickford.
As is known, the Marseyside Derby duel between Everton and Liverpool at the Goodison Park Stadium took place last Saturday (17/10).
Van Dijk, who played as a starter, had to be satisfied with only playing for 6 minutes, because he got a brutal tackle from the opposing goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford.
At that time, Pickford tried to block Van Dijk’s action that would head the ball. The goalkeeper then lunged at Van Dijk with both legs up to the knees of the Dutch defender.
Unfortunately, Van Dijk’s right knee was caught between Pickford’s legs. He immediately fell and groaned in pain. The injury suffered by the former Southampton seemed severe enough to the point that the player was withdrawn and replaced by Joe Gomez.
But there was an unusual sight regarding the incident, to be precise when Pickford approached Van Dijk on the sidelines to apologize. The Liverpool Echo claims that the goalkeeper’s apology was rejected by Van Dijk.
“No,” said Van Dijk, according to the report.
Not long ago, several Liverpool players including Sadio Mane tried to keep Pickford away from Van Dijk because they felt the goalkeeper’s presence was not needed by the Dutch defender.
Elsewhere, coach Jurgen Klopp looked utterly disappointed by the brutal tackle that hit his flagship defender. Even more disappointed that the referee did not award a penalty to his team after the terrible incident.
“It was a clear penalty I saw and then we saw the flag going up. I thought they were still going to see the foul but it didn’t happen.”
“I don’t want to say Jordan Pickford wants to do it but it’s not a tackle a goalkeeper can do in the box,” Klopp said in a disappointed tone.
Van Dijk himself has been confirmed to have an ACL type injury, where the injury has forced the defender to undergo surgery and be sidelined for the next six months or so.
Obviously, the player’s absence hurt Liverpool who did not recruit a new defender last summer.