Van Dijk on Napoli clash, Gomez contract and topping the Premier League
Virgil van Dijk is confident that Liverpool can do what is necessary to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Reds go into Tuesday’s final Group C fixture knowing they must beat Napoli either 1-0 or by two clear goals to be certain of advancing from the pool.
A big European night is in store at Anfield, then, and - while acknowledging that their tricky situation is an issue of their own making, Van Dijk believes Jürgen Klopp’s team have what it takes to qualify.
During Monday’s pre-match press conference, the No.4 was also quizzed on topics including Joe Gomez’s new contract, which was signed earlier in the day, and the Reds’ position at the top of the Premier League.
Read on for a summary of what Van Dijk had to say…
On Gomez’s new deal…
First of all, [it’s] well deserved. I knew it already a couple of weeks ago but he is a great player, he’s been showing it for us, and he’s been showing it for England as well, and he can only get better and I am delighted he has signed a new deal.
On whether he had huge weeks like this in mind when joining the club…
For sure. You want to play at the highest level. Obviously you don’t want to be in the situation we could be in tomorrow where we could maybe get knocked out, but it is how it is and we are looking forward to it. We want to show them and show everyone in the world that we belong in the Champions League. We should be confident as well with the situation we are in now. We are doing very well in the league and we need to show it in the Champions League as well, and hopefully we can keep doing that after tomorrow.
On whether strong form in the Premier League goes hand in hand with the Champions League…
I think it’s going to be a very tough game. Like I said, we should be confident, we should be ready for tomorrow. We should be believing in ourselves that we can do it, we can progress. I am definitely confident in my team and the players, but we still need to show it.
On whether he is surprised that it has come to a situation where Liverpool must win their final group game to progress…
Well it’s our own fault that we are in this position, but we have a way to get out of this and we need to do it tomorrow. That’s the only way and that’s how it is.
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On the difficulties the Reds faced during defeat in Belgrade on matchday four…
Obviously it was a tough game. It was a bad night for all of us, for all those who support Liverpool and for us as well. We were poor, we were obviously not like we had hoped for. It was a tough game but that’s how it is.
On whether being top of the Premier League will change the team’s approach domestically...
No, I don’t think so. I think it’s a totally different game tomorrow, it’s a different situation. It’s basically like a final for us - obviously we need to win and hopefully don’t concede and if we do, we need to win by a lot of goals, so that’s it. Obviously we should have confidence in our situation in the Premier League, but that’s the only thing, I think.
On whether the players acknowledged the fact they had gone top of the table after Saturday’s win at Bournemouth…
We didn’t speak about it too much together. Obviously you get messages, you see all these things on the internet and stuff so that’s the only thing. But we know that the season is very long – it could change next week, or in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully it doesn’t change, but you never know.
On how he feels physically, having started every Liverpool game bar one so far this season…
I feel amazing. If there’s a game you are going to be ready anyway, and in the profession that we do you need to do everything possible to get yourself ready and that’s what I’m doing. I play and then after the game it’s all about recovery: making sure you eat the right things and rest. It’s difficult but at the end of the day when you are out there on the pitch, you forget about these things.
On the danger of taking a gung-ho approach from the first whistle, given Napoli’s threat on the counter-attack…
It’s going to be a difficult game. That’s how they play but we need to play our game, we need to be ready to do what we’ve been doing almost the whole season. We have plenty of quality to score and we have plenty of quality to defend as well, but at the end of the day it’s all about showing it on the pitch. It is all about showing it on the pitch.
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