Brighton striker Neal Maupay admits he's long struggled facing Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.

Maupay rates Van Dijk among the best in the world.

When the French forward was asked by Sky Sports if he had played against any world-class players, he said: "(Virgil) Van Dijk probably. The man is just too strong, too rapid, too tall, too everything. Just hard!

"This season when we played Man City I had a very, very tough game against [Ruben] Dias too."

Maupay is not the only Seagull to find taking on the towering Dutchman a tall order.

Former Brighton favourite Glenn Murray said the Liverpool star is a "man mountain" that treated him like a "12-year-old boy" as he moves his opponents out of the way.