Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp faulted Virgil van Dijk for his role in Aston Villa’s staged comeback against Liverpool on Monday night.
The German manager blamed his captain for a “mistake” that resulted in Liverpool giving up a 3-1 lead.
Jarrell Quansah’s header, an Emiliano Martinez own goal, and Cody Gakpo’s tap-in put the Reds ahead 3-1 at Villa Park, even though Youri Tielemans had equalized in the first half.
But with five minutes left to play, it all collapsed for Klopp’s team. After gaining possession of the ball in his own territory, Van Dijk made a careless pass that put Alexis Mac Allister under pressure. Callum Chambers dispossessed him, Jhon Duran received the ball and struck home a low shot from the edge of the area.
After two minutes, Duran scored an unusual goal to level the score as he left Alisson stranded in goal after he cleverly deflected a pass from Moussa Diaby.
The late collapse resulted from Klopp’s four substitutions in the 75th minute. Although the German manager maintained that the changes were required and cited Van Dijk’s mistake.
“Before we changed, we gave them too many chances,” he told Sky Sports as echoed by Daily Star. “It was very intense for the boys. They created too much. They were too often in our box and we made the changes.
“Then we made a mistake. We shouldn’t have passed the ball there. It happens but in that moment, it opens the door.”
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“The character from the boys tonight was outstanding in our situation.
“We wanted to win the game. In the moment, when we gave away the 3-2, that was really tricky. That’s it, that’s the story of the game,” he said.
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