Van Dijk On Rollercoaster End to West Ham Match and Contract Situation
The Liverpool captain scored the game winner against West Ham and hinted that the announcement of a contract extension could be happening this week.
The match notes might have Andy Robertson down as the own goal scorer of West Ham’s goal that pulled the Hammers level with Liverpool in the 86th minute of Sunday’s Premier League match, but most watching agreed the bulk of the blame lay with Virgil van Dijk.
With a cross sent into the box in the 86th minute and no real pressure on the Liverpool defenders, Robertson made a call for the ball only for Van Dijk to stretch to get to it instead, disrupting Robertson’s attempt to play it and ending up with the ball in back of the Reds’ net.
Thankfully, it only took a couple of minutes for Liverpool and Van Dijk to make amends, with the club captain heading home off a corner in the 89th minute after Liverpool ratcheted up the pressure and pushed hard for the win following the Hammers’ late equalizing goal.
“I heard him shout but these things unfortunately happen,” Van Dijk said after the match when asked about the own goal incident. “Obviously there was time to make it right and luckily we did. We train a lot on [corners] and today I could score the winner now on to the next.”
“I can tell you I’m very proud today to captain my 100th game for Liverpool. It was an emotional day also because of the Hillsborough anniversary. The focus was to get three points and a step closer to our dream as players and everyone connected to Liverpool.”
As for the captain’s contract situation, with Van Dijk on a deal that expires at the end of the season, the 33-year-old hinted there could be some news on that front breaking shortly, adding, “Everyone knows how much I love this club and let’s see what next week will look like.”
Liverpool’s title race, meanwhile, sees the Reds now 13 points clear of Arsenal with just six league games to play in the 2024-25 season and knowing six more points—either gained by the Reds or dropped by the Gunners—will officially win them the Premier League title.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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