Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Reds could rediscover ‘fear factor’ of glory days
VIRGIL van Dijk believes Liverpool are close to rediscovering the fear factor that made the club such a dominant force for the best part of two decades.
Between 1973 and 1990 the Reds claimed 11 league titles and a quartet of European Cups, all four won in an eight-season spell.
They were the most feared side on the continent and the benchmark for the rest of Europe.
That power has been gradually eroded but after the remarkable 4-3 aggregate win over Barcelona secured back-to-back Champions League finals, Van Dijk believes they are starting to re-establish their standing in the game.
“Hopefully. That’s something we work towards,” said the Holland captain.
“I feel Manchester City already have that bit of status because they have been dominating last year so much.
“Hopefully, we can keep going and make it very difficult for any team in the world.
“We have a great age group. Between 20 and 27, 28, so, hopefully, we can do it all together for the next couple of years at least and grow as a team and, hopefully, get a lot of success.”
With a place in Madrid secured, Liverpool still have an outside chance of winning their first domestic title since 1990.
They need to beat Wolves on Sunday and hope City drop points at Brighton to pip their rivals in an extraordinarily tight title race.
“If it happens, it happens. We have no influence on that. They have it in their hands,” added the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year.