Liverpool are 22 points clear of Manchester City in the Premier League table.
Paul Merson has urged Manchester City’s John Stones ‘to watch’ Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk play football as he defended the Englishmen for his mistake in the League Cup final on Sunday.
Centre-back Stones came under fire for Aston Villa’s goal at Wembley, but Merson feels that he just ‘fell over’ during that moment and he is a player who is sometimes ‘too talented’ as he wants him to watch ‘the best centre-half in the world’ in action in Liverpool’s Van Dijk.
Whilst Pep Guardiola’s men were lifting their third consecutive League Cup over the weekend, Liverpool suffered their shock first defeat of the season in the Premier League, but they are still a mammoth 22 points clear.
Speaking to The Debate on Sky Sports Premier League (02/03/2020 at 10:20 pm), Merson shared why Stones needs to watch the Liverpool defender in action.
“I don’t [think it was fair Stones got stick for the Villa goal],” Merson told The Debate. “I have probably been one of his biggest critics because I think he is a good player but just takes liberties. I just felt he fell over and lost his balance. And he got punished. It’s a great ball and it’s a great goal. I felt for him.
“I hope he becomes the player that he should be. I really do because he is a talented player. But sometimes when I watch him, he is too talented. And that might sound silly, but sometimes he is too good.
“When you play at the back, just watch Van Dijk play football. Just watch him. The best centre-half in the world. He gets the ball and he just rolls it to the midfield player or he rolls in there. Or he might hit the odd diagonal. You never see him trying to take anybody on. He [Stones] has got to watch someone like him, who has become the best in the world by doing nothing special.”
Stones moved to the Etihad from the blue half of Merseyside during the summer of 2016 for what was the second most expensive fee paid for a defender [BBC Sport] at that time.
The England man has always showcased his talent in being able to bring the ball out from the back, but at times, he has been criticised for overplaying and not being streetwise enough whilst defending.
Van Dijk has also moved for a big transfer fee during these past few years, but it seems as though his progression at Anfield has gone the way City fans would have hopes Stones’ would have gone.
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