Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool’s brilliance as a defensive unit can help thwart Lionel Messi.
The Reds face one of their biggest matches of the season on Wednesday night, travelling to Barcelona for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash.
Much of the build-up has centred around the potential duel between Van Dijk and Messi – generally seen as the best centre-back in the world up against the finest player on the planet currently, and perhaps in history.
While the newly crowned PFA Player of the Year admires Messi greatly, he told the Guardian that Liverpool’s ability to defend as a team can ensure the Argentine legend has a quiet night at Camp Nou:
I think he is the best player in the world. But you see how we play and how we defend.
We don’t defend one v one, we defend all together and we attack all together as well so we will see. We will be ready.
The situation is that we are in the semi-final against Barcelona and we are going to face the best player in the world but it is not only him, the whole team has a lot of quality.
We will prepare well and we have also a very good team so we can compete there. It is not like we are going there for a holiday.
Messi is arguably in the best form of his career, following a sensational season that has brought 46 goals in 45 appearances.
It is clear that he could hold the key to the entire tie, but Liverpool’s defensive quality this season stands them in good stead.
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