'Great battles': Olivier Giroud says 'complete' Liverpool star was the toughest player he faced in his career

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.

Liverpool have managed to strengthen a side that already had some of the world’s best players.

It was a summer like no other for Reds supporters when the club used the transfer window to secure £400 million worth of new recruits to bolster their title-winning side.

Additions in all areas of the pitch were welcome after losing players such as Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold in key positions, and replacing them with other great talent the market had to offer.

Arne Slot inherited a squad from former manager Jurgen Klopp, who set the red half of Merseyside onto a path to success, winning a Premier League title and Champions League during his tenure.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

What Slot has done with the side has been nothing short of perfect, getting the best out of senior players who were already performing at the highest level and bringing in some new faces to complement them.

There were two players who the Dutchman had to keep as a matter of priority for their side to have the championship accomplishments they did last season: Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

The pair are proven league legends, and when their contract extensions were announced earlier this year, it was proof that this side were going to be serious contenders to win it for a second consecutive year.

Arguably, the key man to keep was the captain and defensive rock, Van Dijk, who has kept Liverpool out of trouble in matches throughout his time at Anfield.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

Former Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud is one of those who understands the struggles of playing against such a hard defender.

In an interview with the CARRÉ channel, the Frenchman told the interviewer that the Dutch centre-half was the toughest he had played against.

Giroud said: “I’ll say it in turn: He’s the toughest defender I’ve ever played against.

“He’s a complete defender, tough, with knocks from behind… but always with respect.

“We’ve had some great battles with Virgil, and I’m not trying to brag… but often I managed to escape his marking, get past him, or win a duel.”

It is already known that Liverpool’s No.

4 holds the French striker in the same regard, as he was asked about the toughest forward he had faced in his career.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, the former Manchester United full-back asked which attacker was the most complicated to take on.

Virgil said: “The most complicated striker I have played against?

I still think it’s Olivier Giroud.

“Every time you think you’ve got the measure of him, of marking him well, but somehow he always manages to score, with his head, with his foot, with his knee.“

Giroud has at times got the better of the Liverpool man, with three goals in seven appearances against him in his top-flight career.

However, both men’s careers have taken different directions, with the 34-year-old defensive great having won titles in England’s top division and the Frenchman now returning to Lille.