Van Dijk confident for 'knockout tie' against Napoli
Virgil van Dijk sees Liverpool's Champions League clash with Napoli as essentially a knockout tie – and one the defender is confident his side can win.
The Reds have to claim victory over the Italian visitors at Anfield this evening if they are to reach the tournament’s knockout stages, with a 1-0 result or success by two or more clear goals enough to guarantee progress.
Jürgen Klopp’s team have kept 11 clean sheets in Van Dijk’s 21 appearances this season and the No.4 is determined to add another against ‘one of the most dangerous teams in Europe’.
Ahead of the tie, the Dutchman sat down with Liverpoolfc.com to discuss the task awaiting Liverpool, the strength of the squad’s defensive ranks and more…
On the Reds’ approach to the game…
It’s a knockout tie. We want to win the game but in this case we need to win 1-0 or by a two-goal difference. We’re going to give everything and hopefully that will be enough.
On the confidence he has of a clean sheet going into every match…
I’m always confident in my team and all of the players around me, the whole squad. That’s how you need to play as well, full of confidence, especially at a club like Liverpool. They are a good side and we need to be 100 per cent ready for a good performance. I have a feeling that we will be.
On partnering with Joel Matip in central defence…
He’s a fantastic player. All of our defenders are fantastic players. The manager said at the beginning of the season that we’d need everyone throughout the whole season, so we need to be ready. He is showing that he’s ready, that’s good for everyone. That’s the message for everyone: you need to be ready whenever we need you. If you’re not playing now, you might be playing tomorrow. That’s the situation. Obviously I saw last season how good he can be and how good he is. We’ll just keep going and do it all together.
On his wait for a second Liverpool goal…
It’s not something on my mind. I’m not perfect and I have things to improve – scoring might be something to improve. But as a defender it’s more of a bonus if you score goals. I will try everything possible. But it’s all about keeping it tight at the back and hopefully not conceding.
On what it would mean to qualify from such a tough group…
It would be a big achievement. If you look back at all the games, we could have made it a little bit easier for ourselves. But the situation is how it is. It’s going to be a good game; we face one of the most dangerous teams in Europe and we’ll see what’s going to happen.