Jamie Carragher argues that Virgil van Dijk is a better defender than Erling Haaland is striker… and says he ‘came out on top’ during his Man of the Match performance in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Man City

Jamie Carragher praised Virgil van Dijk’s stellar performance for Liverpool in their 1-1 draw against Manchester City and compared the Dutchman’s positional supremacy to that of Erling Haaland.

The Premier League titans played out a thrilling draw at Anfield, with goals from John Stones and Alexis Mac Allister maintaining the one-point gap between the teams.

Liverpool were forced to make a late change in defense after Ibrahima Konate suffered an injury in the midweek Europa League win in Prague, meaning youngster Jarell Quansah started alongside the Reds captain.

And Carragher believes Van Dijk’s ability to control the defense not only allowed the 21-year-old to flourish but highlighted his position among centre-backs around the world. A quality that differentiates him from Haaland among other forwards.

“The great centre-backs don’t just play their own game.” The former Liverpool defender said on Sky Sports. ‘They control all the back four.

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‘Although Quensah was outstanding, he was able to concentrate on his own game. The greats take care of you and that is why Virgil van Dijk was the player of the match.

‘Haaland is the best center forward in the world. For me, Van Dijk is up there in terms of centre-backs.

“In fact, I think Van Dijk is a better center forward than Haaland as a striker. You think about the battle of the best center back against the best center forward. Virgil van Dijk won.

Pep Guardiola’s men dominated the first half and broke the deadlock with a well-worked corner kick from Kevin De Bruyne that the Stones dispatched in the 23rd minute.

The Reds responded after the break and found a route back into the tie when Ederson fouled Darwin Nunez, allowing Mac Allister to score the resulting penalty.

With this result, Arsenal lead the exciting title race ahead of the Reds on goal difference, following their last-gasp victory against Brentford on Saturday.

The Gunners face the difficult task of traveling to the Etihad in their next match after the international break later this month.