8 months ago
111 Michail Antonio admits there’s one thing that Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk does which really annoys him during games.
You’d imagine that Virgil van Dijk annoys plenty of attacking players in the Premier League due to his exceptional work at the back.
The Liverpool defender is widely viewed as the best centre-back in world football and he’s certainly been back to his best this season.
His latest display has earned him more plaudits after he dealt with the threat of Manchester City star Erling Haaland in the 1-1 draw at Anfield.
And while Michail Antonio has admitted he didn’t watch the game, he caught some highlights and spoke about Van Dijk’s 1v1 with Haaland in the second half.
Antonio admits Van Dijk annoys him
Speaking on The Footballer’s Football Podcast, Antonio discussed Van Dijk’s unique habit of turning his back while attackers are running at him.
The West Ham forward claims the Dutchman has done this to him plenty of times and admitted it annoys him.
“But I saw a couple of highlights when Haaland managed to square him up and there was one stage where he was running at him and one thing I love about Virgil, most defenders back off and running sidewards to try and see,” the Hammers star said.
“Virgil literally turns his back to you, like he fully turns his back to you and looks at you and goes ‘alright, if you’re going left, I’m going left. If you’re going right, I’m going right’.
“He just waits for you to knock the ball so he’s already in motion so he doesn’t have to generate the power to catch up to speed with you. He’s already there. Most defenders want to see you. He’s like I know I’m as quick and strong as you, knock it! Any stage you knock it, I’m there.”
“So much disrespect when he just looks at you like that,” Fulham’s Tom Cairney said. “So much disrespect.”
“He’s done it to me so many times,” Antonio added. “It —— me off, I’m not going to lie!”
It is quite interesting to hear Antonio admit that Van Dijk is frustrating to face. But it’s certainly not a surprise.
Van Dijk is arguably one of the best 1v1 defenders in world football and his habit of turning his back while facing attackers is something you rarely see.
But it works perfectly for the Dutchman and he’s very rarely caught out due to his impressive pace and ability to react quickly.
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