West Ham United: Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk made it ‘painfully easy’ playing against Michail Antonio
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk made it look “painfully easy” playing against West Ham forward Michail Antonio, according to presenter Paul Machin.
Antonio said on his podcast in the days leading up to the match at Anfield on Sunday [24 September] that he expects West Ham to finish above Liverpool in the Premier League this season.
The Jamaica international also criticised the Reds’ recent defensive displays, but those words were rammed back down his throat as Jurgen Klopp’s side ran out 3-1 winners on Merseyside.
PES World Finals host Machin believes Van Dijk stepped up his game as a result of the comments made by Antonio.
“Virgil van Dijk totally and utterly dominated him through the whole match,” he said on Redmen TV 2 [26 September, 0m 50s]. “Virgil van Dijk made it a point of beating him.
“He actively made a point of stepping up and winning headers, just for a laugh and making it look painfully easy against him.
“I described him as the answer to the question, ‘what happens if you strap a jet engine to a bin lorry?’
“He’s a big, strong handful, but he made a huge rod for his back there and did not back it up in any way shape or form.”
Bad day at the office
Antonio has been heavily targeted by Liverpool supporters on the back of the loss at Anfield, and he can have few complaints in fairness.
Being confident is not necessarily a bad thing, and it was refreshing to hear a player say something other than the same old clichés when discussing an upcoming opponent.
However, it was noticeable that Van Dijk had a stormer at the back for Liverpool, winning both the joint-most interceptions (three) and clearances (five) of any player on the field [WhoScored].
Rather tellingly, he also had three shots – two more than Antonio managed prior to be subbed off in the second half.
Antonio was ironically cheered off the field when his number was shown on the fourth official’s board, bringing an end a day to forget.
The good news for the West Ham fan favourite is that he has a chance to exact revenge in the reverse fixture in April.
If the Hammers are to have any shot of finishing above Liverpool, though, then they cannot afford too many repeats of their second-half display at Anfield.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers may have missed their big chance to sign a player now wanted by a number of Europe’s elite clubs.