Chelsea's Cole Palmer names Liverpool star as his toughest opponent 

Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer has named Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk his toughest opponent. The Dutch defender has long been considered the Premier League's greatest centre-back.

Palmer was asked various questions during a Q&A with the Blues' official X/Twitter account. One of those was who he's had the most difficulty playing against, and he chose Van Dijk.

Palmer, 22, has faced Van Dijk, 31, five times and been on the winning side just twice. He's yet to taste victory against Liverpool as a Chelsea player, suffering three losses.

The former Manchester City attacker came off the bench and assisted Ollie Watkins in England's 2-1 win against the Netherlands at Euro 2024. That came at the expense of Van Dijk whose defense were caught out.

Van Dijk has been excellent for Liverpool since joining from Southampton in January 2018 for £75 million. He's been a mainstay in the Reds' back four, helping them to eight major trophies.

The Dutchman's aerial abilities, composure on the ball and relentless physical presence give attackers nightmares. He's also a threat from set pieces and has excelled under Arne Slot at Anfield.

Palmer was quiet by his standards when up against Van Dijk earlier this month. Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1, and the young Englishman rarely got a foothold in the game.

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Curtis Jones 'delighted' to have kept Cole Palmer quiet in Liverpool's win vs Chelsea

Curtis Joness helped nullify Cole Palmer's threat (Image - Getty)

Curtis Jones struck Liverpool's winner in their 2-1 victory over Chelsea. The English midfielder was impressive in the middle of the park, his energy preventing the likes of Palmer from shining.

The 23-year-old touched on his battle with the Blues' main man and how he came out on top. He said (via TEAMtalk):

"We know how important he is for the whole of their team, how many goals he scores and his assists as well. So I had it in my mind that if I can keep Cole quiet then it’s a huge part of their game gone."

Palmer had been in superb form prior to the game at Anfield. He's bagged seven goals and five assists in 11 games across competitions. If there were any doubts about him replicating the form from his debut season, then they've been put to bed.

Yet, he wasn't at his best against Slot's Merseysiders and his stellar creativity was lacking. He'll be hoping to fire Chelsea to a top-four finish as the season continues.