Virgil van Dijk admitted no one will give Liverpool a chance of overturning a 2-0 deficit to knock Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League next week.
But the captain will tell his teammates to channel the spirit of Barcelona and of their greatest European comeback to defeat the Champions League holders.
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Van Dijk was part of the team who lost the first leg of the 2019 semi-final 3-0 at the Nou Camp but who recovered to win 4-0 at Anfield the following week, and he believes Liverpool are now in a similar position.
He explained: “Back then, you play one of the best teams in Europe, with obviously one of the best players ever in that team and we had injuries like you said.
“And now we play against the best team in Europe. They’re obviously the European champion, so I think it is similar on paper: probably no one gives us a chance.
“So it starts with the belief, it starts with the belief that comes within yourself. It starts with the belief that we get from our manager, the right gameplan, and the intensity that we have to put in from the second one to the last if you really want to achieve something.
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“That’s what I want. And that’s what I’m going to tell my boys. We have to show it. We have to show the desire, show the fight. That’s the least you have to do as a Liverpool player.”
Liverpool have lost their last three games in all competitions while the 2-0 reverse at the Parc des Princes was their 16th defeat of the season and Van Dijk said that total is damning.
Liverpool must mount a comeback after losing 2-0 in the first leg (Getty Images)
“It’s unacceptable,” he added. “It’s the reality. It’s the big reality, and that’s obviously why it’s so disappointing. And it’s very tough to deal with it.”
Van Dijk accepted Liverpool will need much more attacking threat at Anfield next week after only having three shots, all off target, in the Parc des Princes.
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But he was happier with their defending in a new-look back five as they responded well to conceding Desire Doue’s early opener.
He added: “I don’t think up until the goal – and it was early on with a massive deflection – there were any issues, but then you have to try and stay calm, and wait for all the opportunities, and they didn’t come. That’s also the reality, I don’t think we had one shot on target, so that’s obviously not good at all.”
