Van Dijk was heavily criticised for his mistake in the fourth minute, when he gave the ball to Georges Mikautadze, allowing Villarreal to take the lead. This was described as one of his worst duels by the English press. Van Dijk struggled to regain his composure in the first half, with This is Anfield giving him a score of 5 out of 10. "He completely misjudged a header back to Alisson, gifting Villarreal the opening goal," they stated.
Liverpool Echo also gave van Dijk a score of 5 out of 10, describing his performance as "unusually sloppy" in the first half. However, van Dijk did improve in the second half, making crucial sprints to prevent Villarreal from completing a comeback. Goal.com gave him a score of 5.5, acknowledging that he had a "particularly sloppy first half".
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