'First time Ive ever seen Virgil van Dijk uncomfortable!' - Ally McCoist reacts to 'concerning' L

August 2024 · 3 minute read

Virgil van Dijk was given all sorts of problems in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Fulham, and Ally McCoist said it was 'the first time I’ve ever seen him uncomfortable'.

The Reds defender is regarded as one of the top centre-backs in world football, who plays the game largely in second gear and rarely looks flustered against the best players in the world.

But that is not what happened at Craven Cottage on Saturday, with Marco Silva's side certainly looking good value for a point - and perhaps deserving all three.

Van Dijk was one man who certainly endured an afternoon to forget.

The Dutchman was tasked with containing Aleksandar Mitrovic who managed to grab a brace against Klopp's side, with McCoist hailing the Serbian striker for causing so many problems to the usually unflappable star.

Discussing Van Dijk's display on talkSPORT Breakfast, McCoist said: "It’s the first time I’ve seen him look uncomfortable against an out and out centre forward.

First of all, that shows you the quality of Van Dijk who is without a doubt one of the best defenders in world football.

“But in the game on Saturday, Mitrovic certainly gave him one or two problems and a few headaches. I haven’t really seen that before.

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“You’ve got to say it’s been a long time coming because Van Dijk has been brilliant, but it certainly looked like Mitrovic had his number.”

Mitrovic beat Trent Alexander-Arnold to a header at the back post to give Fulham the lead, and later left Van Dijk kicking air as the Liverpool man brought down the striker in the box to concede a penalty - which the striker duly converted.

Van Dijk's performance saw 'Van Disney' trend on social media as rival fans poked fun at the Liverpool man.

And McCoist admitted it was a 'concerning' display from Klopp's side, whose Premier League title pursuit got off to a lukewarm start.

McCoist added: “What was concerning was that they didn’t dominate the game like many expected them to.

"Fulham were well in the game and played exceptionally well which surprised a lot of people, myself included.

“Listening to Klopp’s interview he’s right in what he says in that it’s not a bad point because that’s effectively all that they deserved.

"But he’ll certainly be concerned about the way his team played over the 90 minutes and the amount of possession that the opposition had."

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