Van Dijk: Manchester City game is not about me against Haaland

The 22-year-old Haaland has scored 20 goals in 13 games for

this season but he failed to score against

on his debut in Community Shield.

ahead of Sunday’s clash says that stopping Haaland is not easy but they have identified a plan to make that task easier.

"It's definitely not easy – he’s been on fire, you can’t say anything else,"

the Liverpool center-back told TV2 in Norway.

"I remember after the Community Shield where a lot of people have been writing him off, I remember I was saying, ‘listen, this guy is going to cause so many defenders nightmares’. He’s shown it, he’s been showing a consistent level and obviously in a team like City where chances will always come.”

Van Dijk says this game is not about him against Haaland and they have to not let City make chances for the Norwegian star.

"We have to try to stop the balls going to him, defend at the highest level, and be at our best, and that’s what we always have to be against City and that’s not going to be any different on Sunday. It’s something we should look forward to, it’s definitely not me against him, it’s all of us versus all of them. It’s the outside world that creates battles, one versus one and all this stuff. We want to stop them scoring, regardless of who it is on the pitch. But we know he’s quite good.”

Jurgen Klopp’s side is 10th in the Premier League after eight games and they are already 14 points behind league-leaders Arsenal and 13 points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.

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