Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk up for vast PSG challenge but admits season ‘unacceptable’

Virgil van Dijk has compared the scale of Liverpool’s task against Paris Saint-Germain to that against Barcelona in 2019 but conceded belief may not be as strong in Arne Slot’s team amid an “unacceptable” season.

Liverpool require another remarkable Anfield comeback to salvage their Champions League aspirations after losing the first leg of their quarter-final against PSG 2-0 on Wednesday. The scoreline flattered the Premier League champions, who were outclassed at the Parc des Princes, yet Van Dijk is “100%” convinced the tie can be transformed on home soil. Memories of Barcelona in 2019 fuel the captain’s conviction.

Jürgen Klopp’s side were 3-0 down after the first leg of their semi-final against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona but won 4-0 on an unforgettable night at Anfield en route to winning the European Cup for a sixth time. Ousmane Dembélé’s wastefulness in Paris, where he missed an almost identical chance to his stoppage time effort at the Camp Nou seven years ago, offered another parallel for Liverpool to cling to.

“Back then, you play one of the best teams in Europe, with obviously one of the best players ever in that team and we had injuries,” Van Dijk said. “And now we play against the best team in Europe. They’re the European champions, so I think it is similar in terms of, on paper, probably no one gives us a chance.

“It starts with the belief that comes within yourself. It starts with the belief that we get from our manager, the right gameplan, and the intensity that we have to put in from the first second to the last if you really want to achieve something. That’s what I want. And that’s what I’m going to tell my boys. We have to show it. We have to show the desire, show the fight – that’s the least you have to do as a Liverpool player.”

Van Dijk insisted Liverpool displayed the fight against Luis Enrique’s team that was lacking in last Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Manchester City. However, after 16 defeats in all competitions this season, 17 including the loss on penalties in the Community Shield, the Netherlands’ international admits Liverpool’s current side do not stand comparison with that of the Klopp era.

“It’s unacceptable,” the defender said of the defeats. “It’s the reality. It’s the big reality, and that’s why it’s so disappointing. And it’s very tough to deal with it. Things will eventually always come to an end, including my time at a certain point. … At the moment, the reality is that we are inconsistent. We are losing too many games. We’re having some good moments, and we don’t stay consistent in that sense.

“But there was a time also before we had all those good years, and we came out of that as well as a club. It’s down to us as players to actually realise that we have to do it all together. We need each other. At the moment we lose too many games, and the performances have just not been good and we are struggling to find consistency. It’s not easy. But the reality is it is like that, and you have to own up to it, deal with it and improve it. At a certain point things come to an end and then others have to carry on, hopefully with successes.”

Liverpool had only two days to train with the three-man central defence that Slot deployed in Paris, the first time he has adopted that formation in his time at Anfield. Despite losing three games in succession, beginning with the 2-1 defeat at Brighton, Van Dijk believes Liverpool’s recovery in the last 16 against Galatasaray and last season’s performance against PSG at Anfield offer hope for Tuesday’s second leg.

The captain added: “Obviously, it’s a different quality team that we face with all due respect [to Galatasaray]. But the game we played against them [PSG] last year, we lost on penalties, but if you analyse that game we started so well, full of energy, created the biggest chance in Mo [Salah] when Nuno Mendes blocked the ball. That could have changed the game.

“You need everything clicking together to turn this around because we play against a team that is just outstanding in every department. But it also comes back to yourself, and to the belief, and the pride: we are Liverpool. That’s why this particular moment hurts so much personally, and it should hurt as well for everyone in the dressing room.”