Virgil van Dijk faced many high-class strikers in his career. On many occasions, the Dutch international neutralized Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and now regularly faces Erling Haaland after the Norwegian joined Manchester City in the summer of 2023.

However, not the names mentioned above, Olivier Giroud is the one who makes Van Dijk “bored” the most . The former Southampton player clashed with Giroud during the striker’s time at Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as in the international arena against France.

Speaking on France Football, Van Dijk said: “ I think Olivier Giroud is the toughest attacking player I have ever played against. Every time I thought I had him, but he always scored in one way or another: from head to toe or even knees. He often scores against my team “.

In addition to Giroud, the Liverpool captain also named a series of other top strikers, including Sergio Aguero, Erling Haaland and Gabriel Jesus. Van Dijk added: ” They all make my game very difficult “.

Although Van Dijk highly appreciates Giroud, the French striker has only scored twice against the 32-year-old midfielder’s club. The Dutch international was defeated by the former Arsenal star for the first time in the 2019/20 season in a Premier League match when Liverpool won 5-3. The second goal was scored in the 2019 UEFA Nations League match between France and the Netherlands.

It is likely that Van Dijk will start in Liverpool’s main squad when they welcome Bournemouth on January 21. Meanwhile, Giroud hopes to participate in the Serie A match against Roma this weekend.

Virgil van Dijk arrived at Liverpool in July 2018 under a contract worth more than 84.5 million euros. He became a key piece of the defense, contributing to helping the “Red Brigade” win the Champions League and Premier League. Up to now, the midfielder born in 1991 has played for the Anfield team more than 240 times.