Laura Woods left football fans in stitches on Wednesday night after accidentally calling Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk “Virgin van Dijk” live on air during TNT Sports’ Champions League coverage.
The presenter was fronting the post-match analysis of Liverpool’s dramatic 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield when she made the slip of the tongue.
Reviewing the decisive moment of the game, Woods said:“A 92nd-minute winner from Liverpool captain Virgin val—Virgil van Dijk…” before breaking into a laugh and quickly composing herself to finish: “…means they pick up three points at Anfield.”
The gaffe immediately set social media ablaze, with fans sharing clips of the moment across X (formerly Twitter).
One viewer wrote: “Did Laura Woods just call him Virgin van Dijk?” while another joked: “Laura Woods… ‘Virgin van Dijk.’ I’ll be your 1st, big man.”
Several fans pointed out it wasn’t even her first slip of the night.
“That’s twice now Laura Woods has called Van Dijk ‘Virgin,’” one user noted.
The Arsenal-supporting broadcaster seemed to take the mistake in good humour, laughing off the moment on air, though Reds supporters will no doubt remember the clip as fondly as Van Dijk’s match-winning header.
Virgil van Dijk scored a dramatic late winner as Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night
|REUTERS
It capped a chaotic evening at Anfield both on and off the pitch.
TNT commentators Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist had their chairs collapse mid-game, much to the delight of viewers, while Liverpool and Atletico served up another European classic.
Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah fired Liverpool into a two-goal lead inside the opening six minutes, before Marcos Llorente — who has now scored four of his seven Champions League goals against the Reds — dragged the visitors level with a brilliant double.
But Van Dijk had the final word, rising highest in stoppage time to thunder a header past Jan Oblak, sparking wild celebrations from the Kop.
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Atletico boss Diego Simeone then provided more drama, confronting supporters near the dugout before being restrained by stewards and sent off in the dying moments.
For Liverpool, the result maintained their perfect start to the Champions League campaign and further underlined their status as one of the competition favourites.
Speaking after his heroics, Van Dijk said: "We kept pushing for the 3-1 but to concede a massively deflected equaliser was obviously not great.
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Virgil van Dijk celebrates his late goal for Liverpool against Atletico Madrid
|REUTERS
"We found a way again. We were dangerous in our set-pieces. They were pretty aggressive but I'm glad I got the winner.
"Atletico are a team that never gives up, with quality players that can punish you.
"Eventually though, we had to keep going, show resilience and it was another great European night here.
"It is always good to get a winning start playing at home in a good game against a good opponent."
Liverpool will now turn their attentions to Saturday's Merseyside derby, with the Reds due to lock horns with Everton at 12.30pm.
As for Atletico, Simeone's men will be seeking a return to winning ways when they do battle with Mallorca in LaLiga on Sunday (3.15pm).