Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson was very disappointed with Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk after the 2-1 defeat at Selhurst Park.
In another dramatic PL encounter, the Reds emerged victorious against Crystal Palace on Saturday. The club managed to make a comeback at Selhurst Park and secured a 2-1 scoreline.
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The Merseysiders started slow and trailed in the 57th minute as Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a penalty.
But Mohamed Salah equalized in the 76th minute against 10 men Palace and achieved the milestone of 200 goals for the club.
Harvey Elliott scored the winning goal in the 91st minute to secure all 3 points. With this win, the Anfield giants climbed to the top of the PL points table with 37 points after 16 games.
However, Roy Hodgson was not happy with the outcome and expressed his disappointment in the post-match interview.
Roy Hodgson bashes Virgil Van Dijk
The turning point in the match was the sending-off of Jordan Ayew. The Ghanaian was booked as he blocked Van Dijk’s path when the Reds skipper was preparing to take a free-kick. The referee rightfully showed him the first yellow for wasting time.
However, in the 75th minute, Ayew recklessly fouled Harvey Elliott which led to him seeing the second yellow and leaving the pitch.
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Speaking to TNT Sports in the post-match interview, the 76-year-old stated,
“Van Dijk took the opportunity to get him the first yellow card from two yards away that’s very disappointing. I think if you’re Liverpool Football Club, you don’t need players of Van Dijk’s quality and status in the game to try and get a player a yellow card by just kicking the ball against him.”
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The Crystal Palace boss blaming the Dutch defender is just pathetic. The 32-year-old had merely any part to play in the sending off of Ayew. Van Dijk wanted to take a quick free-kick and the Palace striker most certainly blocked the path.
Questioning the Dutchman’s integrity is simply baseless from the English manager. Virgil Van Dijk should be the last person to be doubted regarding fairness and integrity.
An ardent football fan and a proud Red. I take immense pleasure in analyzing the intricacies of the game.
