Liverpool will not go to Man City to defend, says Van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool will not go to Manchester City to defend their commanding lead and will instead look to repeat the 3-0 first-leg win.

The Reds are on the brink of the Champions League semi-finals after a stunning defeat of City at Anfield in midweek, with the return leg to come on Tuesday.

But Jurgen Klopp’s men are not looking to protect their advantage at the Etihad Stadium, according to Van Dijk, with another attacking blockbuster on the cards.

“We are going to discuss it over the next couple of days but I think we need to do our own thing,” he told Liverpool’s official website.

“We don’t need to go there and think we need to defend, we just need to play our game as we did in the first half against them. It’s going to be a very hard game but I’m looking forward to it.”

A much-changed Liverpool side battled to a goalless derby draw at Everton on Saturday, and Van Dijk acknowledges his side must be better at the home of the Premier League leaders.

“It’s pretty hard to come [to Everton] anyway, but three days after the Champions League game it’s tough,” he said.

Time for @ChampionsLeague #weareliverpool pic.twitter.com/7TVEQresPc

— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) April 3, 2018

“We were sloppy – obviously we had our moments but it was hard. It was a tough pitch, I’m only happy with the clean sheet. For the rest, we need to recover well and prepare for Tuesday.

“Sometimes we need to play better – myself as well – but you can’t deny that some legs are a bit tired. But it’s part of the game and I’m happy that we kept a clean sheet – that’s the only thing.

“Maybe in one or two moments we were a bit lucky, but sometimes you need that as well. In the first half we had our moments, but in the second half it wasn’t good enough.

“We need to learn from it and be ready for Tuesday.”