Virgil van Dijk played down his struggles during the first half of Wednesday’s Merseyside derby, a half in which Jamie Carragher said that the Liverpool captain had helped to make Everton striker Beto look like a “prime Didier Drogba”.
Beto had the ball in Everton’s net at one stage during the first half, outmuscling Van Dijk before slotting the ball past Alisson at close range, but a VAR check saved the Dutchman’s skin as it proved the 27-year-old was marginally offside.
Later on in the half, Van Dijk misjudged a bouncing ball which allowed Beto to take possession, running through on Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal but whipping his effort against the post.
Liverpool’s defensive performance prompted Carragher to urge the Reds’ two center-backs to improve as he analyzed the game for Sky Sports at half-time.
“Everton have looked dangerous going forward and especially Beto,” Carragher said. “He’s caused Virgil van Dijk, and especially Konate, big problems. Liverpool’s two center-backs have been brilliant for the majority of the season but they’re making Beto look like prime Didier Drogba. They need to sharpen up.”
Van Dijk was quizzed about the moment of “defensive uncertainty” during an interview in the Anfield mixed zone after the game but was clearly not concerned.
“That one moment? That one moment, yeah. Or the offside one, which one do you mean?” he responded. “In football, sometimes you can make mistakes, no one plays football without making mistakes. And unfortunately, I’m playing in the position that if I miss hit the ball, what happens then, it could lead to a very, very big chance.
(Image: 2025 Simon Stacpoole/Offside)
“And that’s what happened, so that moment goes actually then in slow motion. But listen, whatever happened during the game, there’s still so much time to turn your defensive uncertainties around and I think that’s what we did.
“I think we didn’t give much away today. There was, like I said, an offside goal and one that I just have to clear. Yeah, what I said, it doesn’t define the whole performance in my opinion.”
Everton’s attacking threat disappeared in the second half, and the Reds emerged as 1-0 victors courtesy of a goal from Diogo Jota. Van Dijk praised the Portugal international, who has endured a difficult season due to issues with form and fitness.
“He came back very sharp from Portugal, was good in training, so for him it was a case of just keep going, stay important,” Van Dijk added. “We know how much work he does in order to be important and his goal was important. We know how good he can be and he showed it with his goal. His work-rate and quality on the ball was good too.”
