Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk snubs Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland as he names surprise toughest opponent

The Liverpool defender has come up against several prolific strikers in his career. On numerous occasions, he has handled the likes of Messi and Ronaldo and now regularly comes up against Haaland after the Norwegian joined Manchester City in the summer of 2023. But Van Dijk chose AC Milan forward Olivier Giroud as the player he least likes to defend against.

The Dutch defender played against Giroud while the striker was at Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as on the international stage against France.

Speaking to France Football,Van Dijk said: "I think that Olivier Giroud [is the toughest attacker I have played against]. Every time, you think you’ve got a hold of him, that you’ve got him well marked, but he always manages to score in one way or another: with his head, his foot, his knee. He has often scored against me (smiles)."

Apart from Giroud, Van Dijk named a host of other players, including Sergio Agüero, Haaland, and Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus who he considers tough to play against.

“They all make your matches very difficult,” said Van Dijk.

Although Van Dijk rates Giroud highly, the French striker has been able to score past him on just two occasions. He was first beaten by the forward during the 2019-20 season in a Premier League fixture when Liverpool won 5-3. Whereas, the second goal was scored in a 2019 UEFA Nations League tie between France and the Netherlands.

Van Dijk will be in action with Liverpool when they play Bournemouth on January 21 in the Premier League. Whereas, Giroud would hope to feature in a blockbuster Serie A tie against Jose Mourinho's Roma at San Siro this Sunday.