Theo Walcott, a former Arsenal player, claimed that Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool, was to blame for Brighton’s Premier League opening goal on Sunday.
Remember how Brighton took the lead through Simon Adingra after 20 minutes during the Premier League match between the two teams at the Amex?
In the absence of any immediate danger, the Ivorian winger profited from Van Dijk’s sloppy pass to Alexis Mac Alister.
Alisson passed the ball to Van Dijk after stopping a Brighton onslaught.
The Dutchman, however, decided to play a dangerous pass to Mac Alister, who was being pursued by three Brighton defenders.
Alisson Becker, who had shifted to central defence to keep the back four when Trent Alexander-Arnold advanced, lost the ball when Mac Alister lost control of it, and Adingra defeated Liverpool’s goalie Alisson Becker.
Jurgen Klopp’s team gave up a rather avoidable goal as the Brazilian custodian failed to get back to the net in time.
What I admire about this goal, according to Walcott (via Mirror), is that everyone was waiting for the trap and was attempting to trap Liverpool.
“They all have triggers for specific regions of the field. However, as a player, I have been in Mac Allister’s shoes and can attest to how difficult it is to deal with the ball. I believe that Van Dijk understood that he does not want it.
