Mateus Fernandes admits that West Ham planned to stop Virgil van Dijk – but couldn’t keep the Liverpool defender from scoring on Saturday.
On Saturday, Van Dijk scored the second as Liverpool beat West Ham United 5-2 on a sunny day at Anfield.
The Dutchman headed in from a corner only a few minutes after Hugo Ekitike had opened the scoring, a goal that also came from a set-piece.
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Taty Castellanos and other West Ham United players look dejected after Liverpool score their first goal against them in the Premier League clash on 28/02/2026.
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Van Dijk also had a chance before his goal and Alexis Mac Allister’s strike to make it 3-0 also came from a corner, underlining the issues West Ham have there.
What’s even worse is that Fernandes admits that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had a bespoke strategy built to deal with Van Dijk, just that it didn’t work.
Van Dijk scored despite Fernandes confirming that West Ham had a special game plan to stop him
Speaking to Sky Sports, Fernandes admitted that the plan in training in the build-up to the game was at least partly built around trying to drop the defender at set-pieces.
He said: “Three set pieces, we worked this week about Van Dijk. We tried our best and this is football. We have another game, we need to win the game.
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“We are getting better every week. We know the quality of our squad, the manager. We need to be ready for the next game. Rest well, eat well, drink well.”
A player as dominant as Van Dijk in the air is always likely to get a sniff at goal over the course of the game, so that is hardly anything to be ashamed about.
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However, the fact he came close to scoring before he eventually did, as well as West Ham’s struggles from set-pieces generally, hardly points to the most coherent plan from the coaching staff.
Mateus Fernandes during Liverpool v West Ham United - Premier League
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West Ham have conceded 15 goals from corners this season – more than any other team in the Premier League.
Even without the three they let in on Merseyside on Saturday, they’d still have been way out in front in that respect, with Bournemouth the team closest to them on that unwanted front (9).
Fernandes was once again brilliant for West Ham against Liverpool but unless they tighten up at the back, the Championship awaits.
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