Rodrigo Muniz says Liverpool have a player who’s ‘the best’ in the world at what he does

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Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz hailed his toughest competitor as Liverpool centre-back Virgil Van Dijk, calling him the ‘best’ in the world.

The 24-year-old Brazilian has 27 goals in 104 appearances for Fulham since joining from Flamengo in 2021, including iconic strikes against Chelsea and Liverpool among others.

He helped Fulham get their first win away at Chelsea since 1979, and they were one of the only teams to beat champions Liverpool last season, with Muniz scoring in both games.

And reflecting on those goals, he explained why taking on Van Dijk made that particular goal even more special.

Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz heaps praise on Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk and reveals pre-match advice

After holding off Van Dijk and finishing low into the far corner, Rodrigo Muniz named his goal against Liverpool last season as his second favourite during his time at Fulham, only beaten by his late winner at Stamford Bridge.

And his reasoning went straight to the fact that he got the better of Van Dijk, telling the Premier League: “Yeah, Van Dijk is the best defender in the world right now, in the Premier League, he’s really good. So I was happy with this goal.”

Muniz also revealed a pre-match chat with one of Fulham’s video analysts, saying: “We have a guy who works here on the videos.

“He says every training session, ‘Rodrigo you need to use more your body to be out of the defender’. After this goal I said I’ve done it!”

Rodrigo Muniz praises three Premier League rivals for making him feel welcome in England, ‘good guy’

Rodrigo Muniz netted eight goals in the Premier League last season and nine the year before. He is already off the mark this term with a late equaliser at Brighton on the opening day.

Asked who his favourite Brazilian player in the Premier League was, Muniz immediately pointed to former teammate Willian, but then named two Chelsea rivals and an opponent from Newcastle.

He said: “Willian because I play with him, Thiago Silva because he’s really proficient and a good guy.

“When you play against Chelsea, Joao Pedro is a good friend of mine, when you play Newcastle Joelinton is a nice guy. Brazilians are friendly.