Oleksandr Zinchenko has named Mohamed Salah as the toughest opponent he has faced - and the Liverpool team-mate who helped the Egyptian.
Zinchenko was asked by Rio Ferdinand during a chat on the former Manchester United defender's FIVE YouTube channel about which player had given him the hardest time on the pitch.
Zinchenko explained why, referencing the role played by former Reds midfielder Gini Wijnaldum
Zinchenko also recalls a conversation he had with his Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, when he was assistant manager to Pep Guardiola at City, during the 2019 Community Shield with Liverpool at Wembley.
Zinchencho
"I think it’s Salah, I think it’s Salah,”
"With all my respect to the rest, to Riyad (Mahrez) as well because I played against when he was at Leicester (City). He’s (Salah) an absolutely explosive and unstoppable winger."
“What Liverpool did so well, especially when Wijnaldum was there, because Wijnaldum is more like box-to-box... Community Shield game against Liverpool penalties, we won that game. Mikel was still there and I went to the dressing room at half-time and said, ‘Mikel, what do I need to do with this?'
“‘(Virgil) Van Dijk on the ball, he’s playing on the left-side on the right foot, without pressure, he does first touch, Wijnaldum runs behind between me and (Nicolas] Otamendi) I need to protect inside, Salah drops wide, the ball to feet and the distance between me and Salah, was like 50 meters. Imagine his pace against me, I’m finished. What do I need to do at half-time? There was like five balls like this in a row.
He said, 'the only one way is to ask Raz (Sterling) who was playing on the left, to come to drop a bit lower to leave Trent'. If you stay with Salah then it’s a big gap for Wijnaldum. And when Mohamed is receiving the ball at his feet and he gets the pace, it’s impossible, impossible.”
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