Speaking on the Premier League’s YouTube channel, Chris Wood has named Liverpool old-boy Martin Skrtel as the toughest defender he’s faced.
Wood has come up against some of the best defenders of all time during his stint in the Premier League. Wood has faced off against the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Ruben Dias during his time at Burnley, but he maintains that Skrtel is the hardest defender he’s faced.
What’s been said about Skrtel?
Wood said that the 37-year-old was an absolute nightmare to play against.
“Skrtel was actually one of the toughest ever. He wouldn’t give you a minute’s peace. He was pinching you, pushing you around, not letting you settle. At the time I was probably too young to change something and do something back to him, but now, I like to think I’d deal with him a lot better. He did the job and he put me off my game, so it was a good learning curve,” Wood said.
Physical
It’s interesting to hear Wood say this about Skrtel.
The centre-back may have struggled against some of the more skilful and tricky strikers in the Premier League, but when it came to facing a physical battle, there weren’t many better than Skrtel.
With all due respect to Wood, he isn’t the fastest and he’s not the trickiest, so when you’re relying so much on your physicality and your strength, you’re bound to struggle against Skrtel.
Skrtel left Liverpool in 2015 for £5m, and he’s still playing in Slovakia to this day.
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