Virgil van Dijk makes ‘sloppy’ Liverpool admission following Brighton comeback | OneFootball

Virgil van Dijk admitted that Liverpool were second best to Brighton in the first half of their Premier League clash on Saturday.

The Reds came out 2-1 winners at Anfield, but were thoroughly outplayed by the visitors in the opening period.

The Seagulls took the lead in the 14th minute when Ferdi Kadioglou’s strike went in off the post and held on to their advantage until the interval.

Arne Slot replaced Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai with Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz and his changes reaped rewards in short order.

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Van Dijk provided the assist for Cody Gakpo’s equaliser in the 69th minute, although it was a somewhat fortuitous goal; the Dutch attacker’s cross missed everyone in the box and landed in the net.

Moments later Jones released Mo Salah before the winger blasted the ball past the helpless goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen with a stunning strike that secured victory.

Virgil van Dijk makes ‘sloppy’ Liverpool admission

“I think over the last couple of years we’ve never had an easy game against them,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle.

“It’s always tough and you could see it in the first half. We didn’t press well and were sloppy in possession. It was a well deserved 1-0 at the break.

“We had completely different energy after the break and got what we deserved I think.”

The result sees the Merseyside outfit return to the top of the Premier League table after both Arsenal and Manchester City lost to Newcastle United and Bournemouth respectively. But the Liverpool captain refuses to get carried away just yet.

“It’s too early to even make it important,” the Dutchman said. “We want to be on top of the league but we want to be there after the last match in May. The results have been good so far this season but there is a long way to go.

“It is still a work in progress. We stay humble and keep fighting.”

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