Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has doubled down on his assertion that Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk's comments after last Sunday's 0-0 draw with Manchester United were "arrogant."
United played Liverpool at Anfield and managed to come away with a point, even though nobody expected them to do so.
After the game, Van Dijk claimed there was only one team trying to win the game, while Keane hit back at the Dutch defender for his comments, calling him "arrogant."
Van Dijk, days later, doubled down on his stance and claimed that he was right to say what he said: "I like Roy Keane; if he said that, then it’s fine. He’s Manchester United through and through, and I understand he could react like that. But I felt what I said, and there is absolutely no arrogance in that,"said Van Dijk
Keane has commented on the saga again and claimed that because of the different places both United and Liverpool find themselves in, there is context to every result and performance, and this is something that Van Dijk failed to recognise. The Cork native referenced Klopp's time at Borussia Dortmund as an example of this.
"I've seen Liverpool many times, and I've seen Klopp, particularly when he was at Dortmund, manage Dortmund in big European games or in Germany when they play, and they would sit in," Keane said on the Stick to Football podcast
"We used to give them praise all the time for the counterattack; Dortmund was brilliant, and Klopp got a great reputation on the back of that. Dortmund's a big club; I'm not talking about a small little club. So, this idea that even a team like Manchester United can go away from home and sit in and grind out a draw—I think that's okay. We've all been there where you get a result, and you go, "We hung in; it's satisfying, it's, listen, you take it."
United also came under fire for their inability to keep the ball and make various chances. Keane puts Van Dijk's comments down to frustration more than anything, but agrees that the performance was below par.
"I never said anything about the performance. The performance was poor for me. Now, I said that from day one, but you can't be. When you're talking about another team, if a player is critical of his own team, go, "Listen, we should have done better; we had opportunities; they got in great areas." But not to say the other team... I've been there; we've been there; we've played on the other side of it where you've played a team, and they've hung in there,"added Keane.
"You have to say, "Hey, credit to the opposition." I think that kind of gives you a little insight into how they're feeling right now because they obviously wanted to win that game. Of course, there's obvious frustration."
Keane also claimed that United would have taken the point before the game and that survival is the name of the game in football.
"I didn't see anyone from Manchester City criticising Crystal Palace. The fact that there were goals in the game might be slightly different, but I think when you're going into certain games, and again, we've all been there, survival is the name of the game. Manchester United will take the point, but I didn't see United after the game overtop celebrations as if, like, "Well, we're just delighted to get away with a point." They would have taken it before the game."
