Erling Haaland believes Virgil van Dijk may be the 'best in the world' as the new Manchester City striker discusses coming head-to-head with the Liverpool defender in the Premier League this season.
Haaland has enjoyed a fine start to life in Manchester since his £52m move from Borussia Dortmund as he already has three Premier League goals to his name.
But the Norwegian could not get on the scoresheet when he came up against Van Dijk in the Community Shield, which Liverpool won 3-1.
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But since then the Reds have struggled, picking up only two points from a possible nine in their opening three league games, and their Dutch centre-back has come in for rare criticism, especially for the part he played in Jadon Sancho's opening goal in Monday's loss at Manchester United.
Haaland, who did score at Anfield in his Red Bull Salzburg days, spoke about Van Dijk in his interview with FourFourTwo, saying: "I’m not sure about that. It’s not me versus Virgil. It’s not one against one. It’s 11 versus 11. I know he and I will be up against each other, but I’ll also be against Alisson and the rest of their defence.
“This is modern, top-class football – it’s about more than good individuals. We have to be great as a team, working together. It’s important not to look at individual battles too much.
“It’s always nice to face the best and that’s what Van Dijk is. I’ve played against him a few times, and he’s a really good guy as well as an exceptional footballer. I like to play against him because he may be the best in the world. But I have scored at Anfield and for Norway against the Netherlands…”
The two will next face off against each other when City visit Anfield in October in the Premier League.
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