It was a bad day for Virgil van Dijk at Wembley on Sunday as Liverpool lost the FA Community Shield to Crystal Palace.

The Dutchman was at fault for both goals, conceding the penalty for Jean-Philippe Mateta to make it 1-1 by tripping Ismaila Sarr, before then strangely stepping up and leaving the Senegal international free to make it 2-2 in the 77th minute.

As you can see below, no other Liverpool defender was on the same wavelength as the Netherlands international.

Virgil van Dijk also failed to cover himself in glory after the final whistle, as he made a remark which might upset Hugo Ekitike.

Virgil van Dijk demands a new striker after defeat to Crystal Palace

After losing his second game in a row at Wembley, the Liverpool No.4 told Richard Hughes – Director of Football at Anfield – to sign a new striker, saying: “We just lost Darwin (Nunez). He went to Saudi. We lost Lucho (Luis Diaz. He went to Bayern. I think there’s room for an attacker in order to strengthen us. Let’s see what the window brings.”

🗣️ Virgil van Dijk to @alex_crook on #LFC needing a striker: “We just lost Darwin. He went to Saudi. We lost Lucho. He went to Bayern. I think there’s room for an attacker in order to strengthen us. Let’s see what the window brings…” pic.twitter.com/5CdirzJj9N

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 10, 2025

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However, Liverpool have already spent £69m on a new forward in Ekitike – who shone at Wembley and also netted his first goal for the Reds with a superb finish.

After such a strong competitive debut, it may dishearten the Frenchman to hear Van Dijk demand another new striker, seemingly glossing over an impressive performance from the new Liverpool No.22 at Wembley.

Even Crystal Palace fans were impressed by Ekitike – who almost joined the Eagles back in September 2023.

The comments come as Liverpool attempt to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle – so perhaps Van Dijk was attempting to speed up those negotiations with his public demand for a striker.

Arne Slot appears to agree with Virgil van Dijk

Slot seems to agree with his fellow Dutchman.

The 46-year-old admitted there was a lack of attacking options at his disposal against Crystal Palace, revealing: “We have Federico (Chiesa) but of course he’s not been with us for the Asian tour as well, so there’s not a lot to replace him (Ekitike) with.

“So if (Ekitike) gets an injury in this moment in time, that would be a big risk for the Bournemouth, Newcastle and Arsenal games. That’s why I took him off, but he had a good game today, that’s for sure.”

Liverpool could certainly use another new striker, but Van Dijk should have been mindful in his role as captain of how his message can be interpreted by a 22-year-old just starting off in a new country.