Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk’s remarkable 70-match unbeaten record at Anfield in the Premier League came to an end in Saturday night’s loss to Leeds United.
Crysencio Summerville's last-minute winner secured the points for the visitors in a shock result – inflicting the Reds first home defeat of the campaign in any competition. Rodrigo opened the scoring for the visitors early on, but Mohamed Salah ensured the game was level at the break, before the late drama.
Remarkably, this was the first game of Van Dijk’s career at the Merseyside club – whom he joined from Southampton in January 2018 – that he has been on the losing team during a league game at Anfield. Prior to the visit of Leeds, he had been on the winning side 59 times alongside 11 draws – with no defeats.
Yet Summerville's late goal ensured that stunning longevity ended in dramatic circumstances as Jesse Marsch’s side snatched the points to continue the Reds patchy form this campaign. It was their fourth Premier League defeat of the season – double the amount they suffered in the entirety of the 2021/22 campaign.
Liverpool have of course lost Premier League matches at Anfield during Van Dijk’s time at the club, but they all came together during the 2020/21 campaign when the Dutchman was out with a lengthy injury.
Between January and March that season, the Reds crashed to successive home defeats against Burnley, Brighton, Manchester City, Everton, Chelsea and Fulham – having previously gone over three calendar years without suffering a Premier League defeat in the stadium.
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Yet Van Dijk sat out that entire period, as Liverpool were beset with multiple defensive injuries that campaign. Joel Matip and Joe Gomez also suffered lengthy absences at that time, with Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams regularly deployed in those positions, with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho also having to drop into the central defensive roles.
Van Dijk has previously lost matches at Anfield in different competitions. In his first month at the club, the Reds were eliminated from the FA Cup Fourth Round as West Brom recorded a shock 3-2 victory in the stadium.
Two years later, they crashed to a 3-2 home loss against Atletico Madrid, after extra time, in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Then earlier this calendar year, Inter recorded a one-goal victory at the stadium in the Round of 16 in the same competition – although Liverpool advanced through to the last eight on aggregate.
