Tribal Football

Liverpool captain Van Dijk on facing PSG: It is going to be as tough, maybe even tougher

Zack Oaten
Liverpool captain Van Dijk on facing PSG: It is going to be as tough, maybe even tougher
Liverpool captain Van Dijk on facing PSG: It is going to be as tough, maybe even tougherAction Plus
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is expecting an even tougher test from Paris Saint Germain at Anfield this week after a 1-0 victory in the first leg.

In the first leg of the Champions League last-16 clash at the Parc des Princes, Liverpool were completely dominated throughout the game but after Harvey Elliott replaced Mohamed Salah he managed to grab a goal at the death to secure a shocking win. PSG manager Luis Enrique arrives on Merseyside knowing hi side have to score to stand a chance of progressing, which will be tough away from home at Anfield. 

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Dutchman has insisted that the Reds will be ready for what he believes could be an even harder game at Anfield against the Ligue 1 leaders who rested the majority of their squad against Rennes at the weekend. 

“I think they are an outstanding team, a fantastic team, you can see the work rate they put in,” he said. 

“We obviously had a debrief after the game about it and you could see them, if they lost the ball, pressing all of them together and running all together. 

“It’s a big credit to the manager to put that work in and he made, in my eyes, a world-class team out of it. 

“It will be tough on Tuesday and you will all see. I think anyone who, before our game over there expected it to be a dominating performance from us I don’t think they really looked at PSG throughout the season.” 

The 33-year-old says it is down to the team to ride out what will be a tense affair and spoke more on how PSG dominated the first leg.  

“We were prepared very well, obviously we could have done better in some ways, but we know that on Tuesday it is going to be as tough, maybe even tougher, because they will have to come and win. 

“So it’s down to us to be more than ready for a big night. We need everyone in that sense: all the players, staff, fans. 

“Hopefully it will be a great night for us but it is going to be hard work because they are a world-class team and they showed it against us already.” 

The last time Liverpool faced PSG in Europe, the Reds won 3-2 in the group phase at Anfield with Roberto Firmino netting a very late winner. 

"I can only remember from that group stage that we lost all our away games and we had to turn it around at home.

"We were quite lucky with the Napoli game, that Ali was the hero for us. Football is down to small margins. That goal that night against PSG, the winning goal from Bobby, was an outstanding goal and a very important one and, like I said already, it’s going to be very difficult. 

"We need our fans, we need everybody to be at their best to try and get through. That will be our main focus right now and we will see."