Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker slams Jordan Pickford for Van Dijk tackle

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Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has continued to fan the flames of their rivalry with Everton, by criticising the tackle Jordan Pickford made on Virgil van Dijk a few weeks back.

Van Dijk will now miss the whole season thanks to a serious knee injury sustained from a reckless challenge from Pickford.

The England stopper averted a red-card in the game as the referee saw the incident and VAR couldn’t overturn or overrule the call.

But Alisson, who is now back playing after his own injury problem, has criticised Pickford for the way he made the challenge.

“Every goalkeeper has a different way to play and a different way to move,” Alisson told Sky Sports.

“In that moment, 100 per cent it wasn’t a necessary movement. But everyone has their own way. I don’t agree with that way, everyone can see that. It was an unnecessary moment and movement.”

Pickford has come in for criticism from a number of pundits and players since the incident, while Liverpool fans, too, have been incensed that their rivals seem to have got away with one.

The game finished 2-2, with Pickford making an error to gift Liverpool the win at the end only to see VAR rule out the ‘winning goal’.

Liverpool are fuming here, and rightly so to be honest – TBR View

No football fan can honestly sit back and say that Pickford’s challenge wasn’t how Alisson describes it. Yes, he was trying to keep the ball out of the net but there’re ways and means to doing so.

It could well cost Liverpool the title this injury, so it’s easy to understand Alisson’s frustration here.

In fairness, he has been quite diplomatic about the situation. But you get the impression someone of his quality would have found another way of keeping the ball out of the goal.