“He’s Not Disrespecting”- Daniel Sturridge Defends Virgil Van Dijk Over Roy Keane’s Scathing ‘Arrogant’ Remark

The soccer world was caught off guard by last night’s match between Liverpool and Manchester United. In a surprising outcome, the contest ended in a goalless stalemate. However, the spotlight has shifted from the scoreline to Reds star Virgil van Dijk, who made some bold claims during the post-match interview. While his words didn’t settle well with pundit Roy Keane, claiming the defender made arrogant remarks, former Liverpool player Daniel Sturridge came in support of van Dijk, arguing that the Liverpool captain was not ‘disrespecting Man United.’ 

van Dijk stated, “There was only one team I think that were trying to win the game. In the end, they are buzzing with a point and we are disappointed with a point.” Sadly, these remarks infuriated Keane, who claimed he should be humble and shouldn’t have made such arrogant remarks. Enter Sturridge, who argued back to the United legend. 

Virgil van Dijk gets backed by Daniel Sturridge over Roy Keane’s ‘arrogance’ slandering

The post-match discussion took a heated turn on Sky Sports Premier League after Keane continued to slam van Dijk for his words. But Sturridge interjected the pundit’s claim, saying, “I think he’s not disrespecting a club I think he’s disappointed at how Liverpool have performed. Looking at the stats, looking at the way in which they controlled the game, I think he’s thinking ‘well if they had a higher line, if they had tried to maybe break us down maybe we could have had counterattacks.'” While highlighting that there were fewer counter-attacks, Sturridge asserted that it was mainly Liverpool who controlled the game and tried to break United. 

Yet, Keane wasn’t in the mood to agree with the former Liverpool striker and kept on saying it was arrogance. Sturridge then furiously asked, “What would you want him to say Roy? Would you want him to say, ‘I’m happy with a point against Man United, who at this present moment aren’t performing at the same level we are.'” Sturridge insisted that van Dijk meant that he expected United to come with the ‘notion of trying to win the game.’ Regardless, Keane stood by his thoughts. 

A bad day at the office for Manchester United 

Jurgen Klopp’s side was eventually superior to Erik ten Hag’s side. Liverpool ended the game with 69% possession and took 34 shots, out of which eight were on target. On the other hand, Man United had 31% possession and took just six shots, out of which only one was on target. 

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United’s Diogo Dalot saw two yellows and a red card in injury time, following his wild gesture after the initial throw-in decision went against him. Nevertheless, the draw has brought Liverpool second and is a point behind Arsenal, while United are 7th with 28 points. 

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