Van de Ven on Isak Feels All Too Familiar — Why Does This Keep Happening to Liverpool?

When Alexander Isak collapsed to the turf at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, clutching his lower leg and unable even to acknowledge the goal he had just scored, there was a grim sense of déjà vu around Liverpool.

The scene was disturbingly familiar.
A key Liverpool player.
A reckless challenge.
An injury that potentially changes a season.
And an aftermath filled with explanations, regret, and quiet acceptance — but very little consequence.

For many supporters, Micky van de Ven’s tackle on Isak felt like Jordan Pickford on Virgil van Dijk all over again. Different stadium, different opponent, five years apart — but the same hollow feeling that Liverpool had once again paid the highest price for an opponent’s lack of control.

A Moment That Changes Everything

Isak’s goal should have been a moment of optimism. Instead, it may come to define his first season at Anfield.

As he finished calmly past Guglielmo Vicario, Van de Ven arrived late and low, sliding across with speed and little regard for the consequence. The Swede was floored instantly. No celebration followed. Just a raised arm and immediate medical attention.

Within 48 hours, reports suggested a suspected broken leg.

Van de Ven was not sent off.
There was no VAR intervention.
The match simply moved on.

Liverpool did too — because they always seem to have to.

Pickford, Van Dijk, and the Echoes of 2020

It is impossible not to think back to 17 October 2020, when Jordan Pickford’s scissor-like challenge on Virgil van Dijk during the Merseyside derby went unpunished due to an offside decision.

That incident ended Van Dijk’s season, robbed Liverpool of their defensive cornerstone, and derailed a title defence. Georginio Wijnaldum later called the tackle “completely stupid”, while Jürgen Klopp said something had happened that “should not happen in a football game”.

Months later, referee Michael Oliver admitted it was a mistake — that Pickford should have been sent off regardless of the offside.

But by then, the damage was done.

Five years on, Liverpool are again left asking the same questions — and receiving the same empty reassurances.

Why Is It Always Liverpool?

Football is a physical sport. Injuries happen. But what makes these incidents linger is not bad luck — it is the pattern.

Time and again, Liverpool’s most important players seem to suffer season-altering injuries from challenges that sit somewhere between reckless and unavoidable, and time and again, the officiating response feels inadequate.

• Van Dijk (ACL) — Pickford, unpunished
• Thiago — Richarlison, sent off but damage done
• Now Isak — Van de Ven, no red, no review

The common thread is not intent. Few believe Pickford or Van de Ven set out to injure anyone. But intent has never been the standard. Control is.

When a player loses control and an opponent suffers long-term damage, the conversation should not end with “unlucky”.

The Cost Is Always Paid in Red

Liverpool are now without Mohamed Salah at AFCON, Cody Gakpo through injury, and potentially Alexander Isak for months. What should have been a crucial period to stabilise their season has instead become another exercise in damage limitation.

Slot said after the match:

“It’s never a nice thing when a player gets injured after scoring… we have to wait and see.”

Liverpool are always waiting.
Waiting on scans.
Waiting on explanations.
Waiting on apologies that come long after the points are gone.

Meanwhile, the team adapts. The injured player rehabilitates. The opponent carries on.

Lessons Never Learned

The Pickford incident should have been a watershed moment for how football treats reckless challenges — especially those involving goalkeepers or high-speed defenders. Instead, it became another case study filed away, referenced only when history repeats itself.

VAR exists.
Retrospective punishments exist.
Player safety protocols exist.

But when it comes to Liverpool, it often feels as though they exist in theory rather than practice.

Not Conspiracy — But a Question of Protection

This is not about conspiracy or victimhood. It is about standards.

If football is serious about protecting players, then moments like Van de Ven’s challenge on Isak must be examined with the same gravity as Pickford’s on Van Dijk — not brushed aside because a goal was scored, or because the match continued.

Liverpool will cope. They always do.
But coping should not be the expectation.

Because when history keeps repeating itself, the question stops being what happened — and becomes why nothing ever seems to change.