“Very disappointing” - Roy Hodgson levels big accusation at Van Dijk after Liverpool win at Crystal Palace
Former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has accused Virgil van Dijk of playing a part in Jordan Ayew's sending-off at Selhurst Park on Saturday (9 December).
Things seemed to be going the Eagles' way after a controversial penalty kick was converted by Jean-Philippe Mateta. Jarell Quansah was penalized for a foul he made a couple of minutes before VAR actually advised the on-field referee to take a look at the challenge.
Palace were ultimately awarded a spot-kick and took a priceless lead in the 57th minute against the Reds at home. Liverpool looked impotent in the final third and devoid of creativity.
However, Ayew's sending-off in the 75th minute helped their cause. The Ghanaian forward was booked for the second time for a foul around the midway line, which seemed to stop the Reds' counterattack in its tracks.
Hodgson, however, seemed to have a bit of an issue with Ayew's first booking as well, which came in the 60th minute of the game. Van Dijk wanted to take a quick free kick after the Reds were awarded a foul in the middle of the pitch.
Ayew, however, stood in front of him to prevent a quick restart. Van Dijk seemed to hit the ball straight at the Crystal Palace forward's feet, which brought the latter's infringement to the referee's notice.
After the game, Hodgson told TNT Sports, via Liverpool Echo:
"Van Dijk took the opportunity to get him the first yellow card, which was very disappointing. The second one I thought was a good challenge, even if it was deemed a foul, it wasn’t a yellow. I’ve been in football a long time, games like today make me realise when I come to leave it behind, I won’t be missing it."
The Reds currently lead the table by a point, with 37 points from 16 games. Second-placed Arsenal, however, have a game in hand.
Harvey Elliott pleased with Liverpool's win against Crystal Palace
Harvey Elliott was Liverpool's hero on the day as he scored a stoppage-time goal to hand his team the win at Selhurst Park.
The Reds drew level just a minute after Jordan Ayew's sending-off, with Mohamed Salah's deflected strike finding the net. Elliott then stepped up to the plate to score a neatly-placed left-footed shot and hand his team the lead in stoppage time.
After the game, the 20-year-old Englishman, who was subbed on in the 74th minute for Darwin Nunez, said via the aforementioned source:
"It's always a great feeling [to go top of the league] and to win the game as well. Selhurst Park is always a tough place to come, tough team and once again we've shown the resilience to not give up."
Arsenal can regain their two-point advantage if they beat third-placed Aston Villa in the Premier League later today (9 December).