Liverpool ´one of the best´ in Europe also – Van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk has insisted Liverpool have no reason to fear Paris Saint-Germain heading into their crucial Champions League tie this week.

PSG are the runaway leaders in Ligue 1, with 15 points separating them and second-placed Olympique Lyon, but a loss against Liverpool could see them all but eliminated in the Champions League group stage.

A win for the Reds, meanwhile, would effectively secure passage to the round of 16 before facing Napoli in the final group match.

Irrespective of likely returns to the starting lineup for Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, Van Dijk is adamant Liverpool are highly motivated to come away from the French capital with a result.

“I don’t have any fear,” Van Dijk said. “We respect them as a team but the thing is we want to win the game. We are going to be totally up for it, motivated and we will make sure we are ready from the start.

“We don’t need to forget that we are one of the best teams in Europe as well. We reached the final last year and we want to do at least the same this year. That’s our goal. So we are going to try, try and beat them.

Along with leading Group C in the Champions League, the Reds have made an unbeaten start to the Premier League season, sitting two points off leaders Manchester City.

According to Van Dijk however, the motivation is not to keep up with last season’s champions, but to maintain a consistently high level of play.

“I don’t care what other people think. We are still unbeaten. We need to look at ourselves. We are doing very well,” he said.

“Obviously there is always room for improvement but we can’t be sad about the situation we are in. We just need to keep improving, keep doing what we are doing and get better. That’s the only way forward.”