Darwin Nunez says he gets ‘angry’ with Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool training. The Dutchman isn’t an easy opponent.
Darwin Nunez gave an interview with ESPN Uruguay this week where he talked about various Liverpool things. Virgil van Dijk was one topic of discussion, with Nunez marvelling at just how good the Dutchman is.
He struggles to get past him in training, it seems. That’s not something Nunez is used to – and he can’t help but get a little angry.
“Van Dijk is a monster. Sometimes I get angry because I can’t pass him in training; he puts an arm in me and takes me out,” said Nunez.
“He is a very important piece for Liverpool, and he is also a reference, he is always talking to everyone, he is very funny, and it is good that there are people like that in the dressing room.
“It’s very difficult to beat him heads-up. I also thank him because when he was interviewed, he said it had been very difficult to mark me [against Benfica last season]. I admire him a lot as a player and as a person.”
Nunez v Van Dijk in training
It’s long been an advantage that Liverpool have held – if the world’s best players are at your club, your other players get to train against them. Van Dijk is exactly that and if the forwards can get by him, they can get by anyone.
And it’s the same all over the pitch and in reverse. Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have trained against Mohamed Salah for years and that only makes handling tricky forwards easier.
As Nunez is seeing now, it can be frustrating but he seems to appreciate the test. Van Dijk is something special and Liverpool reap the rewards in more ways than one.
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