Liverpool vs Barcelona: Virgil van Dijk sends ominous warning to rivals after historic Champions League win

Van Dijk and his Liverpool team-mates produced one of the greatest European comebacks of all time on Tuesday night

Virgil van Dijk has warned Liverpool's rivals that reaching a second successive Champions League final is only the start of a promising era in the club’s history.

Van Dijk and his team-mates produced one of the greatest European comebacks of all time on Tuesday night to beat Barcelona 4-0 and overturn a three-goal first leg deficit.

After finishing as runners-up to Real Madrid last season, Liverpool now have the opportunity to lift their sixth European Cup in the Spanish capital next month.

Jurgen Klopp’s side could yet end the club’s 29-year wait for a domestic league title too, having already earned a club record Premier League points total of 94, though their fate is not in their own hands.

Liverpool need to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers and hope leaders Manchester City to slip up at Brighton this weekend in order to be crowned Premier League champions.

And so with only two games remaining in an extraordinary campaign, Liverpool could still either win two major titles, just one or perhaps none at all.

Even if Klopp’s side do miss out on a coveted league title or end the year empty-handed though, Van Dijk is confident that this will not be as good as it gets.

“We need to try to get three points. If we do that then we did what we could do. We’ll see what’s going to happen in Brighton,” he said, previewing the final weekend. “I’m definitely a proud man anyway. We’ve been working very hard this season. It’s just the start.

“Hopefully we can get three points against a fantastic side then we’ll see what City can do. If they win then happy days for them. If they don’t, then we’re going to celebrate again this Sunday.

“We have to keep our heads up high. We’ve had a fantastic season so far,” Van Dijk added. “To compete with them says a lot about how we’re progressing from last year. It’s just the start. It’s not like next year we’re not going to try to do it again. It’s something we have to build on.”

Van Dijk also claimed that losing the Champions League final for the second year in a row would not necessarily constitute failure for Liverpool, a club that is still establishing itself as a member of the modern-day European elite.

“I think there are different teams in the world that have a real urgency to win the Champions League and if they don’t it’s a real failure to their season,” Van Dijk said. “I don’t think we should think it is a failure if we don’t win the Champions League.

“We’re going to do everything possible to win it and we will definitely be disappointed but it’s not the end of the world. It’s not like we had a terrible season or we failed this season. Like I said, it’s just the start and hopefully we can do this every year — try to do this every year.

“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 successes.”