Liverpool vs Napoli: Virgil van Dijk says true fans want Premier League and Champions League success

Van Dijk believes Liverpool are more than capable of competing on two fronts

Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool have the quality to compete on both fronts (Getty)

Virgil van Dijk has dismissed the suggestion that exiting the Champions League group stages could help Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge, adding any fans thinking otherwise are not true supporters.

Van Dijk and his team-mates moved a point clear at the top of the table at the weekend as their convincing win at Bournemouth was followed by Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat away to Chelsea.

In Europe, however, Liverpool welcome Napoli to Anfield on Tuesday night knowing that victory may not be enough to see them safely through Group C and into the knock-out stages.

Jürgen Klopp’s side must beat Napoli 1-0 or by at least two clear goals in order to progress, though a victory of any kind will be enough if Paris Saint-Germain fail to beat Red Star Belgrade in Serbia. Any kind of draw or defeat would not be enough.

The prospect of finishing third and dropping into the Europa League is, therefore, a real one. Meanwhile, if a defeat to Napoli is combined with a Red Star win, Liverpool will find themselves bottom of the group and out of European competition altogether.

Some might suggest that would help Liverpool’s title challenge, especially if City progress to the latter stages of the competition, though Van Dijk is not countenancing anything but last-16 qualification.

“I don’t think they are Liverpool fans [if they are saying that],” the defender claimed. “We want to compete on the highest level. We are top of the league now, but it could change next week. You never know.

“The main thing for us is to stay on the highest level and for us is to do everything we can to go through. It is going to be a tough game but I am very confident, like always in my team.

“At Liverpool there is always a lot of pressure, but it is good pressure. You want to play in these circumstances. A night like tomorrow. You want to be getting the job done before tomorrow but now we are here.

“I definitely look at the squad and think it can compete on two fronts. We still need to show it but I think are definitely capable of competing in both competitions. Hopefully, that will be the case.”

When asked whether being top of the tree domestically changes the dimensions of Tuesday’s game at all, Van Dijk said: “I don’t think so. I think it is a totally different game tomorrow, different situation. It is basically a final for us and we need to win.”

Liverpool find themselves in this precarious position after losing all three of their away games in Group C. Their first defeat on the road came in Naples, where Lorenzo Insigne’s 90th-minute strike gave Carlo Ancelotti’s side a deserved 1-0 victory.

“We were poor that night, all of us,” Van Dijk admitted. “We deserved to get beat over there but yes, I think this is going to be a totally different game.

“Napoli is one of the most dangerous teams in Europe. We have not been at our best in the Champions League so we deserve to be in this position where we are now and if we don’t win tomorrow we don’t deserve to be in the Champions League.

“Hopefully that is not going to happen. Hopefully, we are gonna progress and show that we definitely belong.”

And though the nature of Tuesday’s match adds a strange, psychological edge to the occasion, Van Dijk believes Liverpool can only concentrate on themselves and their performance, rather than worrying about the various permutations or results elsewhere.

“What if they score one goal? It’s going to be totally different,” he said. “The most important thing is we focus on our game.

“Obviously we have been doing brilliantly so far this season, obviously in the Champions League everything has not been as good as everyone hoped. But we should be confident about the situation.

“We are top of the league and we still have a chance to go through in the Champions League, it’s in our hands a little bit. We need to go out and play our game. They will play their game. I don’t think they will change anything.

“We need to start fast, set the tone, put them under pressure and play the game. Be brave, be confident, don’t hide. Show yourself and try and do that all together.”