Virgil van Dijk was left frustrated after referee Michael Salisbury allowed Amine Adli's last-minute winner for Bournemouth to stand, despite the Liverpool captain's appeals. The Reds suffered a 3-2 defeat at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening, with Adli scoring in stoppage time to snatch all three points for the hosts.
Former referee Dermot Gallagher, speaking on Sky Sports, defended the decision, claiming that any foul on Van Dijk came from his own teammate Curtis Jones, not from Bournemouth's Adli. Gallagher stated: 'Van Dijk was fouled by his own player. He is definitely fouled but by Curtis Jones. The referee was correct to allow the goal to stand.'
Van Dijk, however, felt hard done by, telling the media: 'What I felt on that pitch was that I was clearly blocked, but obviously the ref and then the VAR don't give it. That's something we then have to accept.' He added his disappointment at conceding so late after Liverpool had fought back from two goals down.
The defeat leaves Liverpool sixth in the Premier League standings. They face Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday before hosting Newcastle United next Saturday.
