Sky reporter accuses Liverpool player of ‘sleeping’ in crucial moment against Brighton

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was accused of ‘sleeping’ in the passage of play which led to Danny Welbeck’s second goal at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

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The Brighton striker had opened the scoring on 14 minutes before Milos Kerkez equalised in audacious fashion on the half-hour mark to leave the teams level at 1-1 at the interval.

The veteran centre-forward restored the Seagulls’ lead 10 minutes after half-time as he got on the end of a pass from Jack Hinshelwood, who had ghosted in behind the Reds captain, and a VAR review showed that the scorer wasn’t ahead of the ball as it was played into his path.

Van Dijk ‘sleeping’ for Welbeck’s second goal

In providing updates for Sky Sports‘ live web commentary, David Richardson pointed an accusatory finger at the Liverpool skipper over his involvement in Welbeck’s goal.

The reporter wrote: ‘Brilliant cross from Minteh on the left but was Van Dijk sleeping to let Hinshelwood steal in behind him? The centre-back was moving slowly.’

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Second Welbeck goal was a collective failure from Liverpool

Van Dijk was indeed too casual in allowing the young Brighton midfielder to nip in behind him and get to Yankuba Minteh’s cross, the sort of lapse we’d never have seen from the Liverpool captain when playing at his prime.

He wasn’t the only one who could’ve done better for the goal, though – Ryan Gravenberch allowed Welbeck to run ahead of him and get into a position for a simple tap-in, while Ibrahima Konate was inexplicably on the edge of the penalty area picking up nobody in particular.

Culpability was collective in that passage of play, and the Reds’ response to falling behind a second time wasn’t exactly that of a team going all-out to try and salvage Champions League qualification, with an all too familiar passitivity taking hold.

If anything, it was Brighton who played with the intensity of a team with everything to play for, and they duly punished the latest exhibition of devil-may-care Liverpool defending in this ongoing catastrophe of a season.

You can view Welbeck’s second goal below, via @footballontnt on X:

It's Welbeck again

The Brighton striker gives his side the lead for the second time against Liverpool!@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/kAdymtIqE2

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 21, 2026

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