Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says PSG hugely impressed him in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 clash at the Parc des Princes. And he has insisted that the Reds will be ready for what he believes could be an even harder game at Anfield.
“I think they are an outstanding team, a fantastic team, you can see the work rate they put in,” Van Dijk told reporters ahead of the second leg. “We obviously had a debrief after the game about it.
“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, also knowing that they were unbeaten for such a long time.
“We were prepared very well, and 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). But we obviously want to win as well, to make sure that we go through.”
Alisson Becker was the Liverpool hero in the first leg, making a record nine saves in the Parc des Princes. With home advantage, Liverpool will hope that it is not quite so one-sided this time around.
(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
“Obviously it’s a team with different qualities, with world-class qualities, and we have to be spot on in everything we do, each and every one of us — we all know that,” Van Dijk said.
“That will be our main focus now, nothing else. I said after the game in Paris that the focus would be on Southampton and after that, now the focus is on PSG. We all know how difficult it is going to be; I think they made eight changes today, so they rested some players for the game.
“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.”
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The last time Liverpool played PSG in Europe, the Reds won 3-2 in the group phase at Anfield with Roberto Firmino netting a 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,” Van Dijk said.
“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.”
