Everton's Richarlison lifts the lid on why he picked a fight with Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool

Everton forward Richarlison has lifted the lid on why he decided to pick a fight with Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in the Merseyside Derby. The Brazilian fanned the flames ahead of the Blues last game against the Reds – a goalless draw at Goodison Park. He commented on the Dutchman, saying: “Yes he is a great defender but I’ve already dribbled past him. For me there are better defenders.” Richarlison has cast further light on their rivalry by recounting the reasons behind another clash between the pair at Anfield in the previous season. The incident in question took place in December 2018 when the £35million signing from Watford was making his Merseyside Derby debut. He told Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte: “Of course I was never going to back down. There was a disagreement during the game, which ended up in the typical heated way. “I was also having the fight to waste time, and the Liverpool players did not like it. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez tried to get involved. But it was nothing out of the ordinary. In the whole fight we wasted five minutes, which was good for the team. “I said (to Van Dijk ) in Portuguese: 'who do you think you are?' They were defending their colours and we were defending ours, it was a typical derby.” Source: Liverpool ECHO