The FA has investigated the incident between Pickford and Virgil and it indeed conforms to one of my "ludicrous" scenarios mentioned previously - the incident was spotted by Michael Oliver and he decided it was not a red card offense. He didn't even bother to review it on the pitchside monitor. Under the rules that's it, no further action can or will be taken.
Offisdes are going to be judged scientifically by the millimeter, yet dangerous tackles and violent conduct are still entirely subjective human decisions.
After Liverpool won the CL and then the league, hundreds of pages of journalism were written about how success was made possible largely, if not exclusively through the acquisition of Van Dijk.
We are now about to find out how true that was. With Matip also hurt, there is no doubt that Liverpool now have a central defensive unit most would consider inadequate to challenge for big silverware. Can the rest of the squad compensate for this weakness? or will Liverpool simply ship too many goals for the rest of the season? Not to mention the loss in aerial threats during set pieces.
