Harry Maguire’s late header sealed Man Utd a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield - and Gary Neville has given his verdict on
Gary Neville questioned Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Anfield
Gary Neville questioned Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Anfield
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Liverpool suffered a fourth consecutive defeat after Harry Maguire scored a winner at Anfield. Arne Slot’s Reds were looking to get back on track at home to the Red Devils after three defeats in the space of a week before the international break.
But they got off to the worst possible start after Bryan Mbeumo scored after just 63 seconds. However, Liverpool’s players and supporters were left furious with referee Michael Oliver after he failed to stop the game in the build-up to the goal.
Alexis Mac Allister picked up a head injury after clashing with team-mate Virgil van Dijk. But it was later claimed by Sky that Oliver had played on, as he had not seen the Argentina international down hurt.
But it was what happened next that caught Gary Neville’s eye, as the former England international couldn’t believe the way Mbeumo managed to break clear.
“Watch Van Dijk; that’s the thing that stuns me here. Mbuemo runs off the back of him, I don’t think van Dijk sees him!” Neville during Sky Sports' live coverage.
“Konate can’t get across, but watch Van Dijk. Mbuemo gets up, reacts like a boxer who’s been punched and off he goes.
“Do you think Van Dijk is passing him on or trying to play him offside? Watch him here, he slows down, he sort of points to Konate to say, 'It’s your man'. It’s a strange handover from him.”
Cody Gakpo restored parity 12 minutes from time, but Maguire secured all three points for his side when he headed home a ball into the box from Bruno Fernandes.
Speaking after the game, Van Dijk said: "I think we conceded a very sloppy second goal. We worked so hard to get back into the game and we created great opportunities to score the winner, but if you concede a second goal like that, that is the disappointing part.
"If you look at the game as a whole, we were far too rushed. I think they were very patient they didn't press us high but they didn't let us on the ball. We still created many opportunities to score but the reality is that we lost.
Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool conceded a very sloppy second goal against Manchester United
Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool conceded a very sloppy second goal against Manchester United
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"It is an interesting time because we have to stick together, not just us as players but as a club and the fans who want us to win."
On the first goal, the Dutchman admitted: "I think the ball went long, first header was a United player, second by me.
“My elbow hit the player and he goes down and I went down. That angle it was difficult to score and he did. There was plenty of football left to be played [and score] and we didn't.
"We need to stay humble and stay working and keep our confidence as high as possible. When things get tough, it is important we keep the mentality of being there for each other. It is a long season."
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