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Virgil van Dijk struggled to hide his fury in an explosive post-match interview following Liverpool's defeat to Arsenal. The Reds dominated for large parts of the game but were made to pay for an early defensive lapse, which allowed Kai Havertz to score what proved to be the winner. Alisson Becker's misplaced pass handed Arsenal the opportunity to break the deadlock and they managed to hang on until the final whistle for all three points.
Liverpool had several chances to hit back, with Florian Wirtz and Alexis Mac Allister both going close, while they arguably should have had a penalty when Alexander Isak was hauled down inside the area.
However, no spot-kick was given, leaving Van Dijk incensed as he reflected on his side's narrow defeat after the game.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "I think it was a clear penalty. I've seen it back and I've seen it being given. Today it wasn't meant to be."
Asked if Isak should have reacted more to convince the referee, Van Dijk replied: "We have 50 cameras. Why does he have to complain when there are so many cameras?
"Everyone has seen it. In the end it wasn't given and we lose the game unfortunately, so well done to Arsenal."
Van Dijk made no attempt to hide his true feelings as he ran the rule over Liverpool's performance, with the Reds playing well despite not getting a goal.
"Disappointed," he added. "We play at home, we had some opportunities. We tried everything. We could have done a bit better in the last 15 minutes to get more balls in the box.
"It wasn't enough today and that's why disappointment is the feeling I'm having. When we conceded we played much better. Alexis could have changed the game."
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola offered a similar assessment, saying: "We still have a lot of things to improve. I think we have things that I love in the team, in terms of the willingness and the spirit.
"I think there is something that I like in this team, but today we messed up a goal kick, we concede from there, things that we definitely need to improve."
Quizzed on the non-penalty incident, Iraola replied: "It was a clear penalty. You hold the shirt, we can all see that he holds the shirt. The ball just goes one centimetre in front of Alex. Alex is going to hit the ball in front of the goal.
"The fact that you are even asking me that he should have gone to the floor, that's the thing. If he goes to the floor, they call the penalty for me. They call the penalty, 100 per cent."
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