Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk criticises decision to award Napoli goal

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has criticised the performance of the referee after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Napoli on Wednesday night.

While the English giants rallied to earn a share of the spoils in the Champions League fixture on Merseyside, Napoli's opener came in controversial circumstances.

Before running through on goal to fire past Alisson Becker, Dries Mertens appeared to deliberately barge into Van Dijk, only for Carlos del Cerro Grande and VAR to insist that no foul had taken place.

After the match, Van Dijk, who had been left requiring several minutes of treatment, acknowledged that he had been left angry with with decision.

The Dutchman told beIN SPORTS: "Yeah I'm not going down for no reason. I won the ball and don't think he wanted to challenge for the ball.

"He touched me, I think it is a foul. The referee, I think, didn't have his best day today. That's what it is."

Liverpool must now avoid defeat against Red Bull Salzburg to guarantee a place in the last 16 of the competition.