'He knows exactly what he's doing' - Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk called out for off-the-ball shoulder charge on Newcastle's Anthony Gordon as 'point' of VAR is called into question again

Just a couple of minutes after Alexander Isak scored a world-class opening goal for Newcastle, Gordon had a golden opportunity to double his team's lead when he found himself one-on-one with Caoimhin Kelleher after outpacing Joe Gomez, however, he hit the ball straight at the Reds custodian's hand. Soon after his miss, captain Van Dijk cheekily charged the Magpies star with his shoulder inside the penalty which went unnoticed.

Fans on social media were quick to point out Van Dijk's actions as some of them questioned the credibility of VAR.

Jordan Cronin wrote on X: "Look at Virgil van Dijk here. He knows exactly what's doing. What's the point of VAR?"

A fan named Sam called the incident 'ridiculous' as he wrote, "Body check from Van Dijk goes unpunished!? Ridiculous."

Sam Nevin hinted at favouritism towards Liverpool as he wrote "Didn't realise you could just smash into players if your keeper has the ball.. oh wait, it's Liverpool"

Chris Conway too questioned the role of VAR as he wrote, "That was a cynical, deliberate shoulder into Gordon’s face from Van Dijk. VAR declines to take a look… And the point of VAR is?"

Calling out the Dutch defender's action, Michael White wrote, "Van Dijk is the most protected footballer on earth, that's pretty low from the big fella, definitely a deliberate shoulder to the head on Gordon. Obviously no action."

The visitors restored parity through Curtis Jones' brilliant strike in the 50th minute before Gordon finally found the back of the net to make it 2-1. Salah then equalised for the Reds before putting his team in the front for the first time in the game in the 83rd minute. However, Fabian Schar's late goal made sure that the Magpies walked away with at least a point.

With Chelsea securing a thumping 5-1 win over Southampton on the same night, Arne Slot's side saw their lead at the top of the Premier League table reduced to seven points. They will be next seen in action on Saturday in the Merseyside derby against arch-rivals Everton.