Erling Haaland has a way of rubbing players up the wrong way and Virgil van Dijk was no different in the Liverpool star’s first meeting with the Manchester City striker.
The task of going up against Erling Haaland is something not many defenders would relish, and even Virgil van Dijk showed a tetchy side to his usual composed character after Liverpool were tormented by the striker back in his teenage days. The Dutchman once walked out of a TV interview after being quizzed about a young Haaland’s exploits at Anfield, which will raise the tension as the two sides prepare to face each other again.
Pep Guardiola’s side host the Merseyside outfit at the Etihad Stadium on April 1 with a victory for the hosts a must if they are to keep pace with Arsenal in the title race. But the stakes are high for Liverpool too, with Jurgen Klopp’s side-eyeing a late challenge for a top-four spot.
The battle between Van Dijk and Haaland is likely to dominate much of the pre-match headlines as the two Premier League powerhouses go toe-to-toe with each other. But Haaland may feel he has the psychological advantage after getting under the 31-year-old’s skin four years ago.
Haaland had been part of the Red Bull Salzburg side that gave Liverpool a run for their money in the Champions League group stage, eventually falling to a 4-3 defeat.
The Norwegian was only 19 at the time and started on the bench, but he caught the eye with a cameo from the bench and got himself on the scoresheet, proving a handful for the experienced Liverpool backline including Van Dijk.
Despite Liverpool’s win, much of the post-match hype surrounded football’s newest star and Haaland shot to prominence as he continued scoring at a frightening rate. But it seems Van Dijk was less willing to be complimentary about the Norwegian sensation when asked about his performance, as former Norway international Jan-Aage Fjortoft recalled in his encounter.
Fjortoft told the Blood Red podcast: “After the game, I interviewed Van Dijk, who I always like to interview because he is a gentleman, and I said ‘I have to ask you about the Norwegian, Erling Haland’ and he just said: ‘Well, we won the game’. So I said ‘Yes, but what do you think about him?’.
“Van Dijk said: ‘I didn’t see a lot of him’ and he was a bit angry because there was some mistakes done and I said ‘It’s a good sign for a striker when a defender says he didn’t see him!’ – and then he just went away.”
It is fair to say the centre-back would likely not be so tense if asked about Haaland now, given that their battle between the two titans is a relevant talking point.
When quizzed about the 42-goal striker’s threat in their first meeting this season, Van Dijk admitted he had talked up his abilities before his arrival.
“It’s definitely not easy – he’s been on fire, you can’t say anything else,” Van Dijk told TV2 back in October.
“I remember after the Community Shield where a lot of people have been writing him off, I remember I was saying, ‘listen, this guy is going to cause so many defenders nightmares’. He’s shown it, he’s been showing a consistent level and obviously in a team like City where chances will always come.”
Haaland has scored only once in his three meetings with Liverpool this season, underlining how he might find life tough against Van Dijk and co at the Etihad in 10 days’ time.
But after netting eight goals in his last two matches – including five in the 7-0 rout against RB Leipzig – the 22-year-old will be out to wreak havoc again, with Van Dijk relied upon as Liverpool’s best hope of stopping him.
SOURCE: express.co.uk
