Daily Mirror - 05.03.2020

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Adult ServiceS^52 DAILY MIRROR THURSDAY 05.03.2020

when

bully

met

billy

Gilmour had to learn fast after

mixing it with Maguire

CHelsea & liverpool fa Cup fallout

suggestions that Liverpool

did not want to win the FA

Cup anyway.

“That’s stupid to say, in

my opinion,” he added.

“Every competition we play

in, we want to win.

“We showed that against

Chelsea with the line-up and

the way we kept going, the

energy we put in. We tried to

do as much as possible to

win the game.”

that negative spirit or you

just focus on the good things

• and I’m definitely focusing
  on the good things.
  “We are in a very
  good situation. Close
  to what we all hope
  to achieve. Let’s just
  go for it, enjoy it. Let’s
  focus on ‘just’ the
  Premier League, because it’s
  very small, huh?”
  Van Dijk dismissed

Premier League. That

reverse was only the second

time in 28 games that

Liverpool have

dropped points in

the top flight.

Van Dijk (left)

said: “In life there

are people who are

never satisfied. They are

always looking for negative

things. That’s the reality.

“Either you go on with

knockout stage tie against

Atletico Madrid next

Wednesday.

But they have been

criticised after three defeats

in their last four games –

despite the fact they are

without captain Jordan

Henderson (right).

Crashing out of the FA

Cup at Chelsea on Tuesday

followed a 3-0 upset at

Watford last Saturday in the

By Darren Lewis

VIRGIL VAN DIJK intends

to defy the critics bored

with Liverpool’s brilliance.

The Reds, 22 points

clear at the top of the

Premier League, need just

four more wins to lift a first

title in 30 years.

They also have every

chance of overturning a 1-0

deficit in the second leg of

their Champions League

van dijk tells critics: you can’t win ’em all

FIVE months ago it was like

a scene from Grange Hill as

Harry Maguire grabbed

young Billy Gilmour like a

sixth-former stealing

lunch money at school.

On Tuesday night Gilmour

showed he had learned from the

experience, running the show

for Chelsea to send Liverpool

out of the FA Cup.

Now he can’t wait to repay

Manchester United centre-half

Maguire for the Carabao Cup

duffing-up back in

October.

“Basically he

was saying I’m

a wee guy,” said

and he has that bit of aggression

in him which is very important,

especially in the Premier

League. When you have the

quality but also the desire, the

work ethic and the intelligence,

you have real potential. He has

all of that.”

Glasgow-born Gilmour, who

grew up watching Fabregas, was

delighted to hear of the

Spaniard’s seal of approval.

“When I first came to Chelsea

we were given Individual Action

Plans and you had to focus on

one player. Mine was Cesc. I

loved how he played. So I just

went and watched videos of

him. Now I’m older I’ve tried to

put it into the games and it’s

working. He’s a role model.”

son, and he told me after the

game. He told me to keep doing

what I’m doing.”

The infectious enthusiasm of

Gilmour, who was spotted

carrying a PlayStation before

the Liverpool game, was mir-

rored by the supporters who

chanted his name and toasted

the emergence of yet another

top talent at Stamford Bridge.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea

midfielder Cesc Fabregas is

already a fan and tweeted his

approval after the game.

“Fantastic,” said Fabregas,

referring to Gilmour’s perfor-

mance. “He had personality on

the ball and intelligence in his

decision-making, he was always

making angles to offer himself,

more than a touch of a teenage

John Terry about the way he

ordered around older team-

mates with Premier Leagues,

World Cups and European

trophies under their belts.

“I’m not here to be just a

player being quiet,” he added. “I

need to tell folk to get into

position. It’s the same when

people tell me.

“That’s how I get better and

that’s how they get better. Just

telling folk to help out. I have to

communicate because it’s espe-

cially important in my position.”

Had he noticed Scotland

manager Steve Clarke in the

stands on Tuesday night? “I was

actually speaking to Liverpool’s

Scotland left-back Andy Robert-

the ex-Rangers midfielder. “He

was pushing me off, gripping me

by the throat, and that’s

something I have to deal with.

But I won’t let that happen

again. That was a lesson.

“Obviously he is going to try

to bully young players and that’s

where I need to learn how to be

stronger. I’ve been working on

that and I can only get stronger.

But, yes, definitely, when he

gripped me, I remember that

really well.”

Chelsea’s delighted fans loved

seeing Gilmour nutmeg experi-

enced Liverpool midfielder

Fabinho on Tuesday, receive the

ball in tight spaces, and pass his

way through the runaway Pre-

mier League leaders. There was

Full name Billy Clifford Gilmour

Date of birth 11 June 2001 (age 18)

Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland

Height 5ft 6in

Playing position Midfielder

YoutH career

2009–17 Rangers

2017–19 Chelsea

club career

Years team Mats Gls

2019– Chelsea (^6 0)
INterNatIoNal career
2 015–16 Scotland U-15 (^1 0)
2 016–17 Scotland U-16 (^1 0)
2 017–18 Scotland U-17 (^7 2)
2 017–19 Scotland U-19 (^7 3)
2 018– Scotland U-21 (^11 1)
bIllY GIlMour
By Darren Lewis
@MirrorDarren
Billy Gilmour looked
at home against
Liverpool and he
learnt from his
Harry Maguire
episode
Now It’s
toP bIllING