Confident Virgil van Dijk admits his job is getting easier - because opposition players are becoming scared to go near him.
The commanding Liverpool centre-back is one of the best on the planet having transformed their defence since arriving from Southampton.
Only keeper Alisson has played more minutes for the Reds this season as they barrel towards a potential quadruple under Jurgen Klopp.
Even dating back to his time at Celtic, Van Dijk has never lacked confidence in his ability and he admitted in a hilarious exchange with Rio Ferdinand that he's starting to have it easier than his defensive teammates.
Speaking on his Between the Lines show on BT Sport, Ferdinand highlighted an incident in Liverpool's Champions League win over Inter where Lautaro Martinez decided against a run at Van Dijk.
He was in a promising position around 35 yards from the Liverpool goal, but rather than take him on, Martinez took the ball wide and was eventually robbed of possession by Andy Robertson.
And Van Dijk admits that was no isolated incident as he noticed the same thing happening in their derby win over Everton.
When asked if he's noticed opposition players shying away from him, he pointed to the Anfield clash where he felt he had it easy - at the expense of partner Joel Matip.
He said: "Yeah I have. For example, in the Everton game, after the game I felt I didn't have too many challenges.
"Then I looked to my partner, Joel Matip, and he was sweating. He was absolutely targeted."
Van Dijk and Liverpool face Newcastle on Sunday hoping to reclaim top spot in the Premier League.
