Van Dijk Goal – Liverpool’s hopes of keeping pace in the Premier League title race suffered a blow on Sunday afternoon as Manchester City ran out 3-0 winners at the Etihad Stadium.
Arne Slot’s side endured a frustrating afternoon that began with promise but quickly unravelled against a clinical City outfit. Erling Haaland opened the scoring with a powerful header midway through the first half, just moments after seeing his penalty brilliantly saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili.
City doubled their advantage through Nico González, before Jeremy Doku capped off a standout individual display with a superb third, ensuring all three points stayed in Manchester.
Liverpool thought they had found a way back into the contest when Virgil van Dijk nodded home from a corner, only for VAR to intervene. After a lengthy review, the goal was ruled out for offside, with Andy Robertson adjudged to have interfered with play despite not touching the ball.
The decision drew criticism from former referee and ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett, who argued that the officials had made the wrong call.
“We saw Liverpool have a perfectly good goal ruled out on the basis of offside,” Hackett told Football Insider. “Yes, Robertson was in an offside position, but that alone is not an offence. Did he really interfere with the goalkeeper? In my opinion, no. I don’t like good goals being ruled out — this one should have stood.”
Van Dijk, however, chose to remain diplomatic after the match, refusing to be drawn into controversy.
“In football the officials decide the key moments and we have to deal with that,” said the Liverpool captain. “It doesn’t matter what I say — the fact is we lost 3-0, and that’s a big blow.”
Reflecting on the performance, Van Dijk admitted his side struggled to cope with City’s rhythm, particularly in the first half.
“They were much more comfortable on the ball and we couldn’t press well enough. Doku had a very good game and caused problems for Conor [Bradley]. We’ll learn from it and keep fighting — it’s a long season, and we won’t give up.”
The defeat leaves Liverpool searching for consistency as the season enters its critical winter phase.
