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James Milner described Liverpool’s staunch defender Virgil van Dijk as “more a Rolls-Royce” than former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany.
The former England international has played with both centrals and was given the test job of choosing between them.
Under the Kompany captaincy, Milner won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup before joining Liverpool in 2015.
With the Reds, Milner has won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup thanks in part to van Dijk’s remarkable defensive performances.
And the 34-year-old believes that Kompany and van Dijk have different attributes and refuses to say that a player is superior.
(Image: Getty)
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Questioned about the duet by Sky Sports Milner said: “They are massive players. You always look at the backbone of a successful team and it starts in the middle with the leaders behind and how important it is to defend.
“Vinny, amazing player. The way he handled his affairs, he fought injuries, but the amount of injuries you saw playing with him that no one had ever known was never incredible.”
Questioned about the duo by Sky Sports, Milner said: “They are massive players. You always look at the backbone of a successful team and it starts right in the middle with the leaders behind and how important it is to defend.
“Vinny, amazing player. The way he handled his affairs, he fought injuries, but the amount of injuries you saw playing with him that no one had ever known was never incredible.”
(Image: John Powell)
“He would put his head on the line. An incredible leader, a great captain with so many excellent qualities on that side, and rightly so, one of the best defenders to play in the Premier League.”
“Virgil is probably a little bit different than that. Maybe a little more Rolls-Royce, if you like, and he doesn’t seem to do a lot of tackling. He puts himself in the right place and takes the ball away.”
Milner also assessed the couple’s play and shooting ability, recalling Kompany’s thunderous blow to earn Manchester City three valuable points over Leicester City last season.
“Maybe he is [van Dijk’s] he got a few more diagonals in his locker than Vinny, although Vinny had that too, “added Milner.” And I guess Vinny had the biggest bump when he hit one in the top corner! So he could hit a ball well too. “
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