‘I have to say' - Erling Haaland doubles down with admission over Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk

Erling Haaland continues to lavish praise on Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk as he names the Dutchman as his toughest opponent.

Haaland

"There’s many good defenders. I have to say, Liverpool’s Van Dijk is so good,"

"I’ve met him many times with [the] national team, played in Salzburg, met him, he’s really good. That’s who I can think of right now."

"You know how tall he is, how strong he is and how fast he is, and also the timing is crazy," he told ESPN in 2022. "I don't think I won one duel against him because he's a physical monster."

Van Dijk on Haaland

"Haaland is a special striker. He's so strong, he's quick, he's got all the attributes to make a defender's life very difficult."

"The first time [I played him] was when he came on at Anfield. He was at Salzburg and he got a tap-in and he scored.

"Obviously in the away game he didn't. He got subbed after 65 minutes or something but it was a very tough one, he was very quick, aggressive, very direct."