GENIUS BRAIN: Virgil van Dijk berate Kostas Tsimikas after Liverpool left-back almost gets into fight with Man Utd player Antony

Virgil van Dijk seemed to have some choice words for Kostas Tsimikas after he nearly clashed with Antony early on at Anfield.

Liverpool hosted Manchester United in one of English football’s biggest rivalries on Sunday, with both sides fighting for very different targets.

Tsimikas and Antony nearly came to blows at Anfield

Tsimikas and Antony nearly came to blows at Anfield

May be an image of 4 people, people playing soccer, people playing football and text

Van Dijk appeared to shout at Tsimikas after

Van Dijk appeared to shout at Tsimikas after

The Reds thumped Erik ten Hag’s side 7-0 in the same fixture last season and the tension was very clear to see this time around.

Liverpool left-back Tsimikas was tasked with keeping Brazilian Antony quiet on the day, with the Greek being tested midway through the first-half.

Virgil van Dijk tells Andre Onana that he was the reason for a 'half-hour game'

The United man was chasing the ball down towards the byline but the defender shielded it and let it go out of play.

Tsimikas and Antony then appeared to have a little tussle, with the latter reaching the advertising board and holding his hands up.

Relief for Ten Hag as Man United holds Liverpool to 0-0 draw at Anfield - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Unfortunately for the former though, his fellow defender Van Dijk didn’t seem best pleased with his antics.

He appeared to shout towards Tsimikas in an attempt to tell him to calm down to avoid any unnecessary bookings.

Referee Michael Oliver issued six yellow cards on the day, with Darwin Nunez, Wataru Endo, Kobbie Mainoo, Sofyan Amrabat, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford all going into the book.

Diogo Dalot was also booked, with the United defender being sent off after picking up two yellow cards in second-half stoppage-time for two different displays of dissent within a few seconds.

Tsimikas is yet to be shown a yellow or red card for Liverpool this season, and Van Dijk will surely be wanting this to remain the case across the busy festive period.

Liverpool put on a lackluster display versus United, missing numerous opportunities to score despite having 34 shots on goal.

Nunez wasted a chance late in the second half when he failed to bring down the ball because he believed Luis Diaz had been fouled in the area just moments earlier.

Rasmus Hojlund, who is still without a Premier League goal, had United’s best chance of the match, but he blasted straight at Alisson.

Despite their control in the game, Liverpool will be the most dissatisfied with the outcome, even if both teams managed a point at full time.