KLOPP’S GOT THE

‘Complete’ boss is poetry for Virgil

VIRGIL VAN DIJK believes Jurgen Klopp is now the “complete manager”.

Liverpool boss Klopp does battle again tonight with Pep Guardiola, the man that he and many others believe is the world’s best coach.

But no manager has a better record against Guardiola than Klopp, with seven wins and one draw from their previous 13 meetings.

Van Dijk says there is no one he would rather see in the Liverpool dugout than the German, who has more to his game than fist-pumping raw emotion and flying glasses.

“Obviously that stays more in people’s minds because that is what you see, but he is much more than that,” said Van Dijk.

“He is the complete manager. He is a fantastic team manager, player manager as well. Everyone is working hard together.

“You don’t see all the hard work we put in behind the scenes. He has shown already that he is an outstanding manager.”

Van Dijk was coy when it was suggested that he could have been wearing a blue shirt tonight at the Etihad instead of red.

“I don’t know which other decisions I could have made,” he said ® when asked about his choice to join Liverpool instead in January in a £75m deal.

That decision never felt more right than last Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Anfield was rocking when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain lashed in from distance for Liverpool’s second of their three first-half goals.

“At 2-0 I had that feeling a little bit, with the fans and the way we played,” he said.

“I felt we would keep pushing and keep pushing and then when you score the third before half-time, it is a bit strange, sitting in the dressing 3-0 up against City.

“They have not been 3-0 down at all this season, but we still had to get ready for the second half and the game here. But at 2-0 there was a feeling we are doing something special and we need to keep it going.

“Hopefully we will be celebrating again after the game.

“Those games were definitely a reason why I wanted to play for Liverpool. That is clear and I am enjoying every bit of it. I love the club already.”

Fears

Van Dijk’s arrival from Southampton, in a world record deal for a defender, helped ease fears that the club were going in the wrong direction as star man Philippe Coutinho departed for Barcelona.

The scintillating form of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane has helped ensure Coutinho has not been missed.

But the Dutch captain has brought a calmness to the backline and is