Virgil van Dijk came on at half-time for Liverpool when they were 2-0 down at Brentford, one of three substitutions

Virgil van Dijk was withdrawn at half-time when an angry Jurgen Klopp made a treble at half-time while he was 2-0 at Brentford on Monday.

It was a shambolic first half for the Reds, conceding an Ibrahima Konate own goal and then Yoane Wissa’s strike for the Bees as the London club hosted their Merseyside rivals in their first Premier League action of 2023.

Unfazed by the opening 45 minutes, Klopp made three substitutions including 31-year-old captain van Dijk.

Virgil van Dijk was one of three players to be substituted at half-time in Liverpool’s game at Brentford

Harvey Elliott, who was booked for the first ten minutes, and Konstantinos Tsimikas were the other two players substituted at half-time.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher said: ‘Could have been anyone. It could have been five. He had to make changes because that was an unacceptable 45 minutes.

Speaking of the Liverpool skipper, Carragher added: “It will be interesting to see if that’s an injury or if he just dropped out because he was struggling.”

Jurgen Klopp’s second-half additions included Andrew Robertson, Naby Keita and Joel Matip

Klopp’s second-half additions were Naby Keita, Joel Matip and Andrew Robertson, who took over the armband for the second half.

The manager’s actions seemed to work in Liverpool’s favor as they went from behind in the 50th minute through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

However, Bryan Mbeumo scored with six minutes remaining to add to the two first-half strikes and regain Brentford’s two-goal cushion.

The Bees also had two more first-half goals ruled out for offside.

Former Southampton centre-back van Dijk has made 145 appearances for Liverpool since joining Liverpool in 2018 and played at the heart of the Dutch defense at the 2022 World Cup.

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