Former Arsenal player, Theo Walcott, has recently shared his perspective on Brighton’s opening goal in their Premier League clash against Liverpool, implying that Liverpool’s captain, Virgil van Dijk, was at fault for the early setback.
In the Premier League encounter between Brighton and Liverpool at the Amex Stadium, Brighton took the lead after just 20 minutes, courtesy of a goal by Simon Adingra. The Ivorian winger pounced on a poor pass by Virgil van Dijk intended for Alexis Mac Alister, even though there seemed to be no immediate threat.
The sequence leading to the goal began with Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson playing the ball out to Van Dijk. However, the Dutch defender opted for a risky pass to Mac Alister, who found himself surrounded by three Brighton players.
Mac Alister subsequently lost possession, allowing Adingra to beat Liverpool’s goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, who had ventured out to the central defense position after Trent Alexander-Arnold moved forward.
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Unfortunately, Alisson couldn’t make it back to his goal in time, resulting in Jurgen Klopp’s team conceding a goal that was arguably preventable.
Walcott commented on the goal, stating, “What I find intriguing about this goal is that Brighton was setting a trap, anticipating Liverpool’s movements. They had specific triggers for different areas of the pitch.
However, having been in the position where Mac Allister was, I understand that it’s a challenging ball to handle. It seems as though Van Dijk recognized the difficulty of dealing with it and preferred not to receive the pass.”
