Virgil van Dijk’s defending has been slammed as ‘horrendous’ after he was involved in a shocking mix-up with Alisson that gave Southampton the lead against Liverpool
16:03, 08 Mar 2025Updated 16:08, 08 Mar 2025
Will Smallbone goal vs Liverpool
Alisson and Virgil van Dijk were at fault as Southampton took the lead Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk has been slammed for his ‘horrendous’ defending as Southampton took the lead against Liverpool.
The Reds hosted bottom of the table Southampton in a Premier League encounter that looked as straight forward as they come on paper.
However, Liverpool were far from impressive in the first-half with the visitors looking the better side, and they got their reward on the stroke of half-time when Will Smallbone pounced on a terrible mix-up between Van Dijk and Alisson.
A throw in into the box initially went too far ahead of Smallbone, who made a run into the penalty area. Van Dijk got his body between the midfielder and the ball as he attempted to shepherd the ball back to his goalkeeper.
However, Alisson was slow off his line and Saints talent Mateus Fernandes was able to put the Brazilian under pressure. Fernandes managed to reach the throw and tackled the ball away from the hapless Reds pair, who ended up falling over each other.
Smallbone collected the loose ball and kept his composure to slot home at the near post and give the Saints the lead, which they took into half-time.
Don't miss a thing with football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to breaking stories, get it all in your email inbox.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply click on this link, then provide your email address and that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top football stories.
You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, right here
Fans on X were left stunned as the awful defending, as one user wrote: “That is a horrendous defending from Van Dijk and Alison.”
A second echoed: “Van Dijk choosing not to defend once again and this time it costs them the goal. Just put it out!” A third exclaimed: “WHAT IS VAN DIJK AND ALISSON DOING!” While another raged: “That is abysmal defending from Van Dijk. Pure aura defending attempt. Pathetic”.
Liverpool entered the weekend 13 points clear of Arsenal having played a game more. The Reds stole a Champions League aggregate lead against PSG in the Champions League in midweek, and Arne Slot’s side appear to be suffering a major hangover.
More to follow...
This is a breaking sports story and is being constantly updated with the latest news, pictures and videos. Please refresh the page regularly.
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest sports stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our sports newsletter.
Get all the very best sports news, pictures, opinion and video by following Daily Star every time you see our name.
Follow Daily Star on Google News - CLICK HERE and click the star
Follow Daily Star on Apple News - CLICK HERE available on Apple devices
Follow Daily Star on Flipboard - CLICK HERE and click followYou can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @DailyStar_Sport and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.
Article continues below
Keep up-to-date with your must-see sports stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at Daily Star Football | London