‘Bad day at the office’ – Van Dijk issues blunt assessment of his performance against Villarreal

Virgil van Dijk candidly described his performance as a "bad day at the office" following Liverpool's dramatic 4-3 victory over Villarreal on Tuesday night. The 35-year-old captain made an early defensive error with a misjudged backwards header, allowing Georges Mikautadze to score inside four minutes as Liverpool fell behind 2-0 before fighting back.

Despite the difficult personal outing, Van Dijk expressed satisfaction that Liverpool secured their third consecutive Champions League win of the campaign. The Empire of the Kop notes that Liverpool Echo journalist Ian Doyle awarded Van Dijk a 5/10 match rating, though the writer expects the centre-back to regain his composure against Brighton on Sunday.