Virgil van Dijk gets Real Madrid admission ahead of the Champions League clash

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool are not on a revenge mission ahead of hosting defending Champions League holders Real Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Arne Slott’s side are the only side to have won all four of their games in the 2024-25 competition after seeing off Milan, Bologna, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen. They go into the Madrid clash as favorites after their impressive start to the season and will aim to secure their place in the knockout stages.

Real Madrid is the team Liverpool have lost to most often in European competition. The Reds have lost to the La Liga giants seven times, including heartbreaking Champions League final defeats in 2018 and 2022.

Liverpool have failed to secure a win in their last eight attempts against Carlo Ancelotti’s side. The last time the two sides met was in the round of 16 in 2022-23, when Madrid beat Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield before sealing qualification with a 1-0 home win.

Since moving to Anfield, Van Dijk has suffered four defeats to Real Madrid including the Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022. Ahead of the crucial meeting at home, the Liverpool captain claims they are ready to take on the La Liga champions.

“To be completely honest with you, I don’t need the fuel (of revenge) to be completely ready,” Van Dijk said. “But it’s the Champions League, it’s a massive game, a beautiful game for the neutrals and we want to be on top and come out of it with a win.

“Look, the fact is I’ve never beaten them. That record (no wins in eight) is a very disappointing stat, so it’s down to recovery and preparation for a big one and I’m looking forward to it.”

Liverpool host Manchester City in the league on Sunday and reveals how he is preparing for two games, Van Dijk added: “I eat well and drink well. I use the sauna, use the ice bath and sleep well.

“And tomorrow (Monday) there’s a recovery session, we do different exercises, yoga and meditation to get your body in the perfect state, and of course food and sleep are big things, but there are other things I do at home, in the pool itself, the sauna, the ice bath and the bike go on and on, it’s all part of it.

“I love playing for Liverpool every week and playing at the highest level. So I’m looking forward to it.”

“An important start to a big week? Let’s hope so. It was always going to be difficult after the break, it’s never an easy game and you have to get back into it and get back to what we want to do, tactically, defend, so the first half wasn’t good but we turned it around with more energy, more dominance on the ball and the three points is all that matters.

“I think we have to find a way to win and we did in the second half, we kept pushing. In my opinion we deserved a win. It was very difficult to play against, they take risks in possession and you have to be strong to continue and as I said we found a way to win and now we focus on Wednesday.

“It’s not just about focus, but that’s a big part of it and at times we had to be ready to suffer because there were always going to be times when they broke through the press and then we had to do it together. So I’m happy with the three points.”