Brentford striker Ivan Toney believes Virgil van Dijk is the only defender in world football who could have produced the goal-saving tackle witnessed late on in Liverpool's 3-3 draw with Thomas Frank's side.
Toney was denied in the final moments of the match by the Reds' centre-halve, who slid in to win the ball off the English forward as the last man of defence.
Had Van Dijk not intervened, there is a strong chance the Brentford marksman would have clinched all three points for his side.
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Saturday afternoon was a rare off day for the Dutch defender, who struggled to deal with the physical threat of Toney and his effective link-up play with Bryan Mbeumo.
Shaping up against Van Dijk is an experience Toney won't forget as he reflected on the difficulty of this test.
“It was pure madness, coming up against one of the best centre-backs in the world. You know it will be a battle," he told talkSPORT.
“He certainly gave me that [a battle]. The chance I had at the end, any other defender and I’ll get onto the end of it, but not Van Dijk.
“He just opened up and shoulder barged me.”
Brentford certainly rose to the challenge of facing Jurgen Klopp's side, having battled back twice from losing positions in the match.
Toney also saw a goal ruled out for offside two minutes from full-time, denying the Bees a famous win in the process.
And the 25-year-old striker is confident Brentford did enough to be considered worthy of three points against Liverpool, highlighting how quickly the Premier League newcomers have settled to their surroundings.
“It was crazy. To think that we’re going toe-to-toe with Liverpool," added Toney.
"With the chances we had and the way the game panned out, we were kind of disappointed.
“It sounds crazy to say we should’ve taken all three points from one of the best teams in the world.
“But it was a great experience and the boys enjoyed it."
