PSV Eindhoven’s Jerdy Schouten has insinuated Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk was a bit soft when he conceded the penalty at Anfield on Wednesday.
The Dutch club secured a 4-1 win over the Reds in the Champions League. Ivan Perišić opened the scoring for the visitors after converting from the spot in the sixth minute.
PSV got a corner and the Liverpool captain failed to clear the ball away. Instead, he lifted his right arm, which clearly blocked the ball. Van Dijk was furious at the decision and was lucky not to get a yellow card.
After the match, the 28-year-old PSV player spoke to Ziggo Sport and De Telegraaf have relayed his comments.
The Netherlands international was honest in admitting he gave a nudge to his compatriot before he raised his hand. Schouten is of the belief the 34-year-old centre-back could have been stronger.
“I think I gave him a little push. But when you’re as big as Virgil, you should be able to handle that, right?” he said.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the equaliser for Liverpool in the 16th minute.
The visitors bounced back in the second half as Guus Til regained PSV’s lead in the 56th minute. It was followed by a brace from substitute Couhaib Driouech in the final quarter.
Schouten is delighted with the win over Liverpool and insists PSV were in control of the game.
“This is abnormal, honestly. Goosebumps. We defended so well as a team, you should be really proud of that. I think we also created the biggest chances. We knew exactly what we were doing,” Schouten explained.
“They are very dangerous from corners. Virgil headed just about every ball that went up in the air, but otherwise we were very strong.”