Sky Sports football pundit Paul Merson has made a statement regarding Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk amid the unsatisfactory run by the Premier League side since the start of the new season.
The former footballer said that “nobody is scared of Virgil van Djik anymore” as the Dutch international has provided a below-par performance after the UEFA Champions League final against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid.
Virgil van Dijk’s performance has taken a dig as he has conceded Five-time more goals in the initial Premier League fixtures. Over the years, the Dutchman emerged as the best defender in Top-tier British football.
Liverpool will host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City this weekend. And City’s summer signing Erling Haaland is currently making the Premier League look like Farmer’s league. He has already scored 15 goals in just nine matches and he’s widely looking forward to scoring more than the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden.
While Former Footballer Paul Merson is concerned about the Dutch footballer because he thinks Erling Haaland fears no one. But the teams will get face-to-face on Sunday afternoon.
What does Paul Merson have to say about Liverpool facing Manchester City and Virgil van Dijk’s face-off against Erling Haaland?
Paul Merson said in his Daily Star column: “The Manchester City game is massive for Liverpool, they are already 14 points behind Arsenal. Arsenal plays Leeds and you expect them to win and if Liverpool lose to City, they’re 17 points behind. Where do you get that from?”
“It’s mission impossible because you’re not just chasing one team. It gets so complicated. But I just don’t see how Liverpool stop City. They’re not carrying that fear at the moment.”
After being in the title picture for straight five to seven years, Jurgen Klopp’s side displayed one of the worst Premier League starts in history while the worst since the German coach took over.
“Nobody is scared of Virgil van Dijk anymore. He used to have that fear factor, nobody would want to dribble at him. They would cross the ball when they should have taken him on.”
