One former Liverpool player has namechecked two current Anfield stalwarts who he’s described as particularly ‘difficult’ opponents.
Dominic Solanke spent just a year-and-a-half with the Reds in the earlier part of Jurgen Klopp’s reign but has since blossomed into a prolific Premier League striker for Bournemouth, netting 14 top-flight goals already this season (Transfermarkt).
In an interview with The Athletic, the 26-year-old claimed that Virgil van Dijk is ‘definitely’ the world’s best centre-back, hailing the Dutchman’s partnership with Ibrahima Konate.
The Cherries forward said of the Liverpool captain: “He’s probably one of the best centre-backs to have played the game. It’s so difficult to play against him. Him and Konate, two big strong centre-backs, they’re such a good partnership.”
Going into this weekend’s fixtures, Liverpool boasted the second-best defensive record in the Premier League, and the Van Dijk-Konate partnership is a big reason for that.
They have tended to be Klopp’s first-choice duo in central defence when both are available, aside from the Frenchman being occasionally rotated out amid a hectic period of fixtures, such as his omission against Luton in midweek prior to the Carabao Cup final tomorrow.
Solanke had been on a run of eight goals in as many top-flight games when the Reds visited Bournemouth last month (Transfermarkt), but he barely had a sniff against the centre-back pairing that day, being limited to one shot (which was blocked) and nine completed passes in his team’s 4-0 defeat (Sofascore).
Konate was especially monstrous that day, winning 12 duels and making nine clearances, while Van Dijk contributed nine defensive actions of his own (Sofascore).
It’s a testament to the Liverpool duo that they bossed one of the Premier League’s most in-form strikers in that game, and it wasn’t an outlier of a performance either, with the pair winning 7.7 aerial duels per match between them in the top flight this term (WhoScored).
Two formidable defenders in their own right, they also combine to make a fearsome partnership, as Solanke can testify.