Virgil van Dijk recalls 'painful' moment Leeds United and Crysencio Summerville gave him at Liverpool
Leeds United enjoyed one of their best results in recent memory at Anfield almost two years ago.
Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool’s dramatic 2-1 defeat to Leeds United back in 2022 still weighs heavy on his mind as a rare blot in an otherwise incredible home league record.
Van Dijk enjoyed a familiar feeling in his 100th Premier League appearance as Liverpool player at Anfield on Sunday, with his side comfortably beating Brentford 2-0 thanks to goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah. The result marked an 82nd win from that century of fixtures, with another 16 draws and just two defeats.
The most recent of those defeats came against Crystal Palace in April but many Leeds fans will have a much clearer memory of their trip to Anfield almost two years ago, a night in which Crysencio Summerville skipped past his compatriot to squeeze an 89th-minute winner past Alisson. And that is seemingly the game Van Dijk looks back on as well.
“Yeah, that’s not bad,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports of his record at Anfield. When asked if he still thinks about those two defeats, the Liverpool defender said: “Oh, yeah. I do actually. I do actually. Obviously, the Leeds one was a painful one.”
Leeds had taken the lead via what Jurgen Klopp described as a ‘freakish’ opening goal, with Rodrigo on hand to roll the ball into an empty net on four minutes after a mistake from Joe Gomez. Salah equalised shortly after and Liverpool looked set to build on that goal, with pressure mounting on Jesse Marsch’s struggling side.
But despite dominating possession and creating countless chances, Liverpool were met with a seemingly unbeatable Illan Meslier who enjoyed what is still one of his best ever games in a Leeds shirt. Marsch’s side sensed a late opportunity to snatch the victory and Summerville was able to pick up Patrick Bamford’s loose touch before dancing past Van Dijk and sending the away end into rapture.
The result ended Van Dijk’s unbeaten run at Anfield, which had stretched to 70 games and spanned Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup football. It also allowed Marsch some breathing room following a run of eight winless games, and an equally dramatic 4-3 victory at home to Bournemouth the next weekend is now seen as the brief spell that kept Marsch in post until February.
Van Dijk looks set to meet with the man who still haunts him soon, with Summerville earning a first call-up to the Netherlands national team earlier this month. The 22-year-old enjoyed an outstanding Championship season at Elland Road and was recently crowned PFA Player of the Year for the second-tier, with that form earning him a place in Ronald Koeman’s provisional squad for the upcoming international break.
But if Summerville is to win a first Dutch cap, he won’t be doing it as a Leeds player after joining West Ham in a £25million-plus deal earlier this summer. The winger returns to Anfield with his new club on April 12.