Date published: Monday 8th April 2019 3:10
Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk says the Reds have been “unlucky” this season to come up against a side like Manchester City.
On the eve of Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final first leg with Porto at Anfield, Van Dijk was asked about Liverpool’s double-pronged challenge.
Jurgen Klopp’s men sit two points clear of Man City at the top of the Premier League table, although City have a game in hand, and face the Portuguese giants over two legs for a place in the last four of the Champions League.
Van Dijk speaking about a potential Premier League and Champions League double, said: “We are still in both races so it’s possible.
“It’s game-by-game. Tomorrow we hopefully set a base to take with us to Porto. In the Premier League we know any slip can end our title dreams.
“We should play with freedom otherwise we can’t show our qualities properly. But I don’t think there’s room for slip-ups in the Champions League either.”
Asked if it’s Liverpool’s time, the £75million recruit said: “Hopefully. Everybody is dreaming of it.
“For the neutral, it’s nice to see two big teams challenging.
“Hopefully it can be something great at the end of the season. But we can already hold our heads high.
“The unlucky bit for us is that there’s another team in the Premier League which has been amazing too.”
Speaking about tomorrow’s date at Anfield with Porto, Van Dijk said: “I think Liverpool as a club, if you look at the whole season and results at Anfield especially, we will go into tomorrow as favourites,” Van Dijk said. “We have to enjoy it and perform.
“We know it will be tough. They (Porto) don’t want to experience what they experienced last year.
“Porto is a very good team, who deserve to be in the quarter-final. They have great players, defend together, press well and have been in a similar situation to us in the league.
“We need to be ready for a tough game.”
