Virgil: We fear no one now... especially City
was erased by lifting the European Cup.
And ahead of their showdown at Anfield today, the £75million defender has warned City that Jurgen Klopp’s Euro kings will go into the match against the reigning champions with no fear.
Van Dijk believes that winning Europe’s top trophy proved the Reds can turn over ANY opposition.
He said: “I have no fear. You should not have any fear when you go out on the pitch.
“Fear is not something we feel at Liverpool. After what we have done we know we have the quality to win any game.
“We don’t need any extra motivation to win the Premier League.
“You can’t have regrets in football. The fact is City were just one point better than us last season and you have to respect that.
“Obviously, there was a lot of disappointment here. We only lost once in the Premier League and did absolutely everything we could.
“It wasn’t quite good enough, but we still had an incredible season, winning the Champions League.
“When we went away for the summer mer we knew we had to recharge, take a lot t of positivity from the season, and try to do o it again this year – but be even better.
“That’s exactly what we are doing. We’re not looking too far ahead because we have only played 11 games and we know that at City are a fantastic team. But there was s no panic last season when we were challenging for the title.”
Last season the two Premier League e games between Liverpool and City proved ved to be decisive in the title race.
The Blues took a point at Anfield, with th Riyad Mahrez failing to score a lastgasp penalty in a 0-0.
Then they edged a dramatic game at the Etihad 2-1, as Sergio Aguero’s amazing scoring record in his home PL appearances against Liverpool stretched to seven on the trot.
But City’s record goalscorer has not found the net in any of his 10 career appearances at Anfield – including two when a late substitute for or former club Atletico Madrid.
But that certainly doesn’t mean that t the Reds will be dropping their guard against nst the little Argentinian.
Van Dijk (below) said: “I think Aguero ro is one of the best strikers in the league – and he’s been doing it for many years.
“It’s a tough challenge and we will all have to be at our best to keep him quiet. He won’t be worrying about not scoring at Anfield. He has enough experience not to think about those statistics.
“It will be a good challenge. City are e the champions, with quality throughout the e whole pitch, a clear plan, a fantastic manager, fantastic players – and are very ery difficult to beat.”
Unbeaten Liverpool have already managed to open up a commanding fivepoint lead at the top of the table after just 11 games.
And that run has also included some tough fixtures against Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester.
But Van Dijk insists that their only thought against City will be to try to stretch that gap out to nine points, rather than just hang on to it.
He added: “Drawing this game is something that we are not going to even think about.
“We want to win every game that we play – and they will want to win as well, so we will see.
“The situation is that we are six points above them at the moment, but it can change very quickly. We cannot look too far ahead.
“We know how the fans feel but the only thing we can do is win the game that is ahead of us.”