Virgil van Dijk made his feelings known after Darwin Nunez squandered a golden opportunity during Liverpool’s draw with Aston Villa.
Mohamed Salah gave the visitors the perfect start, finding the back of the net on the half-hour mark. However, Villa responded swiftly, with Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turning the game around before halftime. Trent Alexander-Arnold managed to restore parity in the second half with a deflected strike, but the Reds failed to capitalize on further chances, with Nunez enduring another frustrating night in front of goal.
Liverpool’s Uruguayan forward had a golden chance to put his team in front, but his misfired effort left fans and teammates frustrated. With the goal at his mercy, Nunez somehow lifted the ball over the crossbar, drawing comparisons to Ronnie Rosenthal’s infamous miss in the same fixture more than 30 years ago. The 24-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance throughout the season, but his inconsistency in front of goal remains a concern His latest miss proved costly as Liverpool failed to secure a victory, thereby handing Arsenal a major boost in the title race.
Van Dijk did not shy away from expressing his disappointment following the match, admitting that his side should have taken all three points. While lamenting the missed opportunities, particularly Nunez’s squandered chance, he told TNT Sports: “We are a bit disappointed but we fight. We had chances to win the game, took a bit of a risk at the end – so it got more open at times. In possession, we did quite well, created good opportunities to score the second.
Disappointing to concede from a set-piece. We tried everything and unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for three points. We should have scored 3-2, but credit to Aston Villa, they made it very difficult.”
With the title race heating up, Liverpool will need to regroup quickly as they prepare for a crucial clash against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
“We have a very tough one on the weekend again, then we play Newcastle, our focus now will be on Man City, a very difficult game, we know that,” Van Dijk added. “We have done everything in our power to win games – and the focus will be that on Sunday.”
