Luton Town defender Teden Mengi chose Aston Villa’s Moussa Diaby ahead of any member of Liverpool’s fearsome frontline when asked to name the player who has caused him the most ‘problems’ in the Premier League this season.
Then again, Mengi’s comments maybe do not come as quite such a surprise when you consider that Liverpool didn’t exactly set Kenilworth Road alight during November’s trip down south.
Jurgen Klopp needed a Luis Diaz equaliser in stoppage time to salvage a point, the outstanding Mengi helping keep Mo Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez quiet throughout.
It’s fair to say the summer signing from Manchester United found life a little harder when going head-to-head with Moussa Diaby a one week prior to that famous Liverpool draw, the Aston Villa forward setting Unai Emery’s side on their way to a comfortable 3-1 win.
Moussa Diaby ran Luton ragged in Aston Villa win
“(My toughest opponent) is called Diaby, at Aston Villa,” Mengi tells The Times.
“You might think I would have said someone like a Liverpool player, but Diaby caused me so many problems at Villa Park.”
Diaby, who joined Aston Villa for a club-record £51 million from Bayer Leverkusen in July, has found goals hard to come by since Luton’s trip to the Midlands. In fact, he has scored only once in his last 14 appearances now, dropping out of Emery’s starting XI as a result.
Mengi, in contrast, remains one of the first names on Rob Edwards’ team sheet. And while the Manchester-born 21-year-old still has a lot to learn, he is certainly heading in the right direction as he looks to emulate the success of Virgil van Dijk on the top-flight stage.
Teden Mengi hopes to emulate Liverpool star
“I look at how composed he is, and he’s very good on the ball,” Mengi says of Liverpool’s colossal number four. “In the air, he’s dominant. I say ‘in the air’ but I actually beat him in a header at the Kenny!
“Defensive awareness, his reading of the game is very good,”
Mengi will need to show a few of those attributes himself when Luton host Manchester United on Sunday.
The post 'So many problems': Prem ace says Aston Villa star a tougher opponent than Salah appeared first on HITC.
from HITC https://ift.tt/O7Pi1um
No comments: