Liverpool star Van Dijk says Giroud is his toughest opponent
Virgil van Dijk admits Olivier Giroud is the striker he struggles most with after the French striker scored against him for club and country… while the Liverpool defender reveals Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne is the rival he wants to play alongside
- Giroud has scored against Van Dijk while playing for Chelsea and for France
- Dutch defender has admitted he can never properly get a handle on the striker
- Liverpool star said Kevin De Bruyne is the one rival he’d most like on his team
- 31-year-old also revealed he always wanted to play alongside Andy Robertson
Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has revealed that Olivier Giroud is the striker he least likes coming up against – and Manchester City rival Kevin De Bruyne is his dream team-mate.
Van Dijk has come up against Giroud in Liverpool matches against Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as for Holland against France.
‘Giroud is the striker I’ve struggled against the most,’ Van Dijk told Gary Neville on the latest episode of Sky Bet’s The Overlap.
Virgil van Dijk has revealed that Olivier Giroud (left) is the toughest opponent he has faced
Giroud scored a goal for France playing against Van Dijk’s Holland in the UEFA Nations League
‘I always felt like I had him but somehow he always managed to score against us. Whether it was for Arsenal, Chelsea or France, he always scored.
‘The year we won the Premier League in the 2019-20 season, we beat Chelsea 5-3. We were winning 3-0 and he scored a scrappy goal, and I thought to myself, “we’re winning comfortably, but he’s still scoring against me.”‘
That is Giroud’s only club goal against Liverpool since Van Dijk arrived at Anfield in 2018 but the striker did score France’s winner against Holland in a 2019 UEFA Nations League tie.
Van Dijk has had plenty of duels with City’s star De Bruyne and he admitted it would be much nicer to have the Belgian on his own side.
‘Someone that I’ve never played with before but would love at Liverpool is Kevin De Bruyne,’ he said.
Van Dijk said Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is the player he’d most like to play alongside
Battles between Liverpool and Manchester City have come to define the Premier League
‘He’s unbelievable, and if he would’ve played at Liverpool, we would’ve gone even further than what we have done.
‘He’s outstanding, good on the ball, he presses high, scores plenty of goals, and has every attribute of a modern-day midfielder and footballer in general.’
Van Dijk, 31, also revealed Andrew Robertson was the one Liverpool team-mate he always wanted to play with after they crossed paths in Scotland.
He added: ‘Andy Robertson is a fantastic player, full of energy and passion. It’s been a pleasure to play with him. He is one of the dressing room leaders in my opinion, being the captain of Scotland too.
‘I played against him for Celtic, when he was at Dundee United, and I said to our scouts that we should try and sign him for Celtic.
Van Dijk always wanted to play alongside Robertson since they crossed paths in Scotland
‘He went to Hull in the end, but things worked out and played with him has been incredible.
‘I’m harsh on him and he’s harsh on me – we have a good relationship that we want to get the bets out of each other.
‘He’s one of the funniest guys in the team, makes everyone laugh – that’s something you need in the team.’
Liverpool beat Napoli to conclude their Champions League group on Tuesday night and make a Premier League trip to Tottenham this Sunday.
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article