Virgil Van Dijk says Anfield factor can help Liverpool turn around Barcelona tie

Virgil Van Dijk stood in a subterranean curving tunnel leading from the street to the pitch at the Nou Camp, although at that moment it may have felt like one of the nine circles of Hell. 

People came and went from a subdued Liverpool dressing room and as he was speaking, Van Dijk had to break off to avoid being clattered by a kit skip.

He smiled wanly at the suggestion the last thing Liverpool needed now was for him to get injured. 

Van Dijk knew that after a defeat exaggerated by the brilliance of Lionel Messi, Liverpool could not afford any more mishaps if they are to retain belief that they might yet overcome the 3-0 deficit they will take into Tuesday’s second leg against Barcelona at Anfield.

Van Dijk insisted there was still hope and not just because Roma pulled off a sensational 3-0 second leg victory over Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals last season to overturn a 4-1 mauling in the first leg. Trailing 3-0 can do wonderful things to Liverpool teams and there is belief among Jurgen Klopp’s team that all is not yet lost.

‘We can take things to Anfield and give it our best shot,’ Van Dijk said. ‘We tired them with our energy here and we will do that again. We have our fans as well. We have home advantage so we have to use that.  

‘We have to be aware of them on the break as well because we were a bit lucky to not concede another one in the end tonight. We should have done better with defending the goals and we should have scored but it’s 3-0 and we have to deal with it.

Van Dijk believes that the atmopshere at Anfield could be crucial to Liverpool’s chances

Liverpool are aiming to produce another classic European performance at Anfield

‘But of course we can do it. It’s always going to be strange for them to come to us with a lead like that, thinking how they are going to approach us. 

‘We were in a situation last year when we won comfortably against Porto away and it’s a strange mindset when you start the return game. We need to believe and we believe anyway so we will see how it goes.’

Liverpool had played well for 70 minutes against the newly-crowned Spanish champions and Messi had even begun to look frustrated. He was still brilliant, of course, but he looked more like the fretful Messi we sometimes see playing for Argentina than the rampant genius who so often lights up the Nou Camp.

There were times when Barcelona looked exhausted by Liverpool’s high-pressing game and the demands of a long season. 

At one point in the first half, both Messi and Luis Suarez stood bent double with their hands on their hips, unable to run any more while the play continued at the other end of the pitch.

But Liverpool could not convert the chances they made. One magnificent pass from substitute Jordan Henderson was begging to be finished by Sadio Mane but he could not apply the finishing touch and then Liverpool switched off at the back to allow Suarez to divert a Jordi Alba cross past Alisson.

Van Dijk faces a major challenges as he takes on Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi again

Liverpool were still in touch and still threatening until midway through the second half when Messi put Barcelona further ahead and then scored that sumptuous free-kick that brought up his 600th goal. In the final minutes, Liverpool wasted another chance to get a foothold in the game when Mo Salah hit a post. 

Messi began to ran riot and only an awful miss by Ousmane Dembele in the final seconds allowed them to retain any semblance of hope for the return leg.

But there is hope. Anfield is still one of the most intimidating stadiums to visit in world football. It retains that quality and it has unsettled teams as accomplished as Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on big Champions League nights.

When Messi and his team-mates run out before kick off on Tuesday, the noise will be deafening and Liverpool will attempt to draw on their rich European heritage and the memories of that miracle in Istanbul when they fought back from a 3-0 deficit to AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final to get off to the kind of start that might unnerve Barcelona.

Van Dijk acknowledges that Liverpool require some luck but is still hopeful of a win

If that happens, if Liverpool score early, maybe Barcelona’s demons and the memories of what happened in Rome will start to crowd in. If Barcelona score though, if Messi works his magic just once, then the tie will be over.

‘Messi’s a fantastic player,’ Van Dijk said. ‘That’s pretty obvious. The difficult part against him is that when we are attacking, he is basically chilling somewhere in the corner. You need to be so aware with defensive organisation. When we lose easy balls, they try to find him and make it difficult for us on the break.

‘I know that 3-0 has a ring for Liverpool fans but I think the most important thing is that we have to believe. We had two big chances to score here and we didn’t take them. It’s going to be difficult for them at Anfield. We need a bit of luck. We need to stop them from scoring. We have to believe. I will definitely believe because I never give up anyway.’

The rest of his team must follow suit. If they start at Anfield as they started at the Nou Camp, then a victory that would take its place in the pantheon of great European nights in Liverpool is still possible.