West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek’s trip to Liverpool couldn’t have gone much worse, with the January signing picking up an injury, losing the match and then getting snubbed by Virgil van Dijk.
The Slavia Prague loanee is expected to be sidelined for the next three weeks with a hip injury picked up at Anfield, coming off after 47 minutes as the Hammers forfeited the lead and lost 3-2 against the runaway Premier League leaders.
Despite the defeat, Soucek was keen to get a souvenir from the match afterwards and made a beeline for Van Dijk as the Dutch defender headed down the tunnel.
‘Virgil! Can I get your shirt?’ he shouted at the Liverpool star. But you have to put your request in much earlier than that to get the in-demand Van Dijk’s jersey.
‘I’ve given it already to him,’ replied the centre-back, pointing at West Ham midfielder Pablo Fornals who was patiently waiting at the end of the tunnel to get his hands on the number four shirt.
Soucek looked devastated, pulling a face as Van Dijk walked off, and cast a rueful look at Fornals as he headed towards the away dressing room.
Van Dijk shared a handshake with Fornals and wished him ‘all the best’ as they traded jerseys, before the Spaniard got back to chatting with compatriot Pedro Chirivella.
Despite the nature of West Ham’s defeat, the two teams were very friendly with each other in the corridors of Anfield afterwards, with Hammers skipper Mark Noble telling Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ‘all the best, big man.’
Watch the exchange from 12:11 below…
Brazilians Fabinho and Felipe Anderson also shared a lengthy chat, while Van Dijk made time for a group of young fans, walking back out onto the pitch to take a picture.
Liverpool’s win – secured thanks to goals from Georginio Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane – saw them move 22 points clear at the top of the Premier League table and they only need four more wins to be crowned champions.
Follow Metro Sport across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
MORE: Takumi Minamino reveals player that convinced him to join Liverpool
