ESPN have lost their mind comparing relegation fodder to Reds star

ESPN have lost their mind comparing relegation fodder Cardiff City’s Sol Bamba to Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk.

The giant broadcaster tweeted a statistical comparison of the two defenders, and claimed that the Bluebirds man was well ahead of van Dijk in every category.

Cardiff signed Bamba on a free after he left Leeds United in 2016 and he’s gone on to make 84 appearances for the Welsh side.

His manager Neil Warnock clearly rates him highly, and even went so far as to claim he was better than van Dijk before Liverpool played Cardiff. That’s fine – it’s a manager’s job to pump up his players, but ESPN should really know better.

More from Rush The Kop

• Set to return, Virgil Van Dijk facing heavy criticism back home
• Liverpool making late comebacks all the rage once again
• Wolves tilt gives Klopp opportunity to tinker with lineup following international duty
• Players to watch in the matchup with Wolves
• Predicting Liverpool’s Next Five Premier League Fixtures

The Reds made van Dijk the most expensive defender in the world when they bought him for £75 million last January, and that’s one of the sticks the media outlet used to beat Liverpool fans with.

Never mind being too expensive, Jurgen Klopp has actually said that the club picked VVD up for a steal! “He’s a player in this market who is worth it, and maybe now people think he was too cheap!,” Goal.com reported that he enthused.

Famously Paolo Maldini once said that if he ever needed to make a tackle, then he’d already committed a mistake – and so it puts those side-by-side tackle counts into perspective.

So while it may be true that Bamba has made nine more tackles than van Dijk, his team has also conceded 20 goals whenever he’s been on the pitch. The Reds have only let in five.

Comparing a nomadic footballer who struggled to cut it in English football before turning up in Wales with one of the greatest defenders operating in the modern game today is just basically trolling for social media interactions. Come on lads, you’re better than that.

WATCH SOCCER ON ESPN+: Get your free 7-day trial of ESPN+

Liverpool take on Watford in the Premier League next, while Cardiff have Everton. Keep a keen eye on the scores.