Van Dijk humbled by Fulham star he 'forgot existed' in Liverpool fightback
Virgil van Dijk was made to feel 'uncomfortable' by Fulham striker Raul Jimenez on Wednesday night - a player the Liverpool captain once forgot existed.
Liverpool recovered form a goal down to beat Fulham 2-1 in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. The visitors established a shock lead on Merseyside in the 19th minute when Andreas Pereira took advantage of Van Dijk's mistake to assist Willian's opener.
While under pressure from Jimenez, Van Dijk failed to deal with a bouncing ball and could only nod it to Pereira. The former Manchester United midfielder then squared the ball to Willian, who danced past his marker and hit a low drive past Caoimhin Kelleher.
Yet Liverpool fought back in the second half. Curtis Jones equalised thanks to a fortunate deflection before Cody Gakpo got on the end of Darwin Nunez's low cross.
Dion Dublin commentated on the Carabao Cup game for BBC Radio 5 Live and believes Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate struggled to deal with Jimenez. The Former Premier League striker thinks Liverpool's defensive duo looked uncomfortable on Wednesday.
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"When Fulham go forward Raul Jimenez is causing the two liverpool centre halves, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, all kinds of problems," said Dublin. "Being physical, holding the ball up doing what all old-fashioned centre forwards used to do. Making things as difficult for the defenders as possible. Liverpool are not looking comfortable at the back."
Virgil van Dijk struggled against Raul Jimenez on Wednesday (Getty Images)Do you think Liverpool will win the Carabao Cup? Let us know in the comments below!
Van Dijk's difficult evening against Jimenez is slightly embarrassing, as the Dutchman once forgot to name him while discussing Mexico's team ahead an international friendly in October 2020. Van Dijk was speaking at the pre-match press conference.
"I know about Javier Hernandez... and some other few players," said Van Dijk. "It is very hard to play against Mexican footballers and everyone knows that as a team they are very tough to beat. It should be an intense game and we always want to win."
Mexico went on to win 1-0, with Jimenez scoring the only goal. He was asked about Van Dijk's comments after the game and said: "It is not a big deal. All I can say is that I scored against him already. Maybe he didn’t mention my name yesterday because he forgot maybe. I am focused on my club and the national team and my goals speak for myself."
It'll be interesting to see how Van Dijk deals with Jimenez in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. The two teams meet again at Craven Cottage in exactly two weeks' time. The other semi-final is being contested between Chelsea and Middlesbrough, with the Championship side winning the first leg 1-0 at the Riverside on Tuesday.
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