Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk talks about facing Erling Haaland

Speaking to TV2 (h/t Metro), Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk spoke about the upcoming Premier League fixture against Manchester City on Sunday and the Reds’ plans to overcome Erling Haaland, who is currently on a scoring spree.

The Norwegian, since his move to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, has been scoring goals for fun. He is the Premier League’s top scorer, as well as the UEFA Champions League’s top goal-getter this season. But the last time he played against the Reds, he could not get past Adrian in the FA Community Shield final.

Liverpool on the other hand, have not been in form defensively and are guilty of giving away easy goals. At times like these, it is extremely important to not lose focus and give 100% for the team. The Reds will have a bit of momentum on their side, as they would go into the Man City fixture having beaten Rangers 7-1 in the UCL.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk talks about facing Erling Haaland. — Virgil van Dijk talks about the Manchester City fixture and stopping Erling Haaland.

Whilst having a conversation about him with TV2 (h/t Metro), Van Dijk said the following

‘‘We have to try to stop the balls going to him, defend at the highest level, and be at our best, and that’s what we always have to be against City and that’s not going to be any different on Sunday.’’
‘‘It’s something we should look forward to, it’s definitely not me against him, it’s all of us versus all of them. It’s the outside world that creates battles, one versus one and all this stuff. We want to stop them scoring, regardless of who it is on the pitch. But we know he’s quite good.’’

VVD against Haaland

Van Dijk, himself has been finding his feet more or less in the recent run of games after he also had a sluggish start to the season. Too many errors from the Dutchman like giving away the penalty against Fulham and not committing to block Jadon Sancho’s opener against Manchester United.

As a senior player in the squad, his form is definitely concerning. But in the last few games, he has shown glimpses of his older self and hopefully, can bring his best out against Man City as well.

This Sunday promises to be a blockbuster with these two teams locking horns. Hopefully, it will be the game where the Reds’ turn their season around.

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This fixture comes at a time when the Reds need to gather as much momentum as possible to finish the season on a positive note. Hence, it is extremely crucial to get all the basics rights against Pep Guardiola’s men this Sunday.