Advertisement

Virgil van Dijk's brutal dig at Aston Villa star caught on camera after Ryan Gravenberch clash

james findlater
·2-min read
Virgil van Dijk didn't hold back in his assessment of Pau Torres
-Credit: (Image: TNT Sports)


Virgil van Dijk wasn’t too impressed with Pau Torres’ attempts to win Aston Villa a penalty during Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Anfield on Saturday.

The Reds are now five points clear at the top of the Premier League following another perfect day of results. With Manchester City slipping up again at Brighton, Arne Slot’s side took full advantage as they saw off Villa thanks to goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah.

With the game still hanging in the balance at 1-0 late on, Salah showed his usual class and composure to secure victory after Liverpool broke away from a Villa throw-in. The counter-attack came with Torres lying on the ground in the opposite penalty area having tangled with Ryan Gravenberch.

Replays showed the Liverpool midfielder standing strong as the Villa defender lost the ball, with Torres going down dramatically in an attempt to win his side a penalty and prevent the Reds from wrapping up their victory. It didn’t work though, with VAR choosing not to intervene.

Van Dijk was clearly not too impressed with Torres’ theatrics, with the Liverpool captain’s brutal response to his counterpart’s theatrics caught on camera. As the Spaniard received treatment, Van Dijk was seen gesturing to him, saying: “You’re 6 foot 4 mate”, showing little sympathy for the Villa star’s plight.

Liverpool now faces a long wait before its next Premier League outing, which will no doubt feel even longer to its supporters as the final international break of 2024 arrives. The Reds will face bottom side Southampton upon their return on November 24, while a crucial meeting with City follows soon after on December 1, with Slot not getting too carried away with his side’s position just yet.

"If I look at the games that are ahead, they are tough,” the Liverpool boss said after the game. “It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin, but it is small. Many challenges to come for us."

Liverpool.com says: We love that from Van Dijk – giving Torres’ attempts to win a penalty all the respect they deserved. It did seem like a rather desperate last roll of the dice from Villa, considering they could have done with their star defender actually getting up to try and stop Liverpool on the counter.

Like Slot says, even though it’s five points, it’s a slender lead, and there is still such a long way to go in the season. For now though, we can enjoy the sight of the Reds sitting proudly at the top of the table for at least a couple of weeks.