This group of players is special and can achieve many things together- Virgil van Dijk

The Dutchman had an in-depth discussion on the season so far, Barcelona, the upcoming final and more.

Since his big-money arrival in 2018, Virgil van Dijk has produced an absolute masterclass of performance for Liverpool. A commanding figure in the heart of the defence, the Dutchman showed his world-class quality within a season and a half, proving that he was worth every penny the Reds paid for his signature from Southampton.

Besides winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, van Dijk earned himself a lot of accolades from pundits across Europe. It’s a shame that even after a world class defensive performance of the team led by the 27-year-old, they had to settle for a second spot in the Premier League.

Ahead of his side’s Champions League final in Madrid against a resilient Tottenham Hotspur, van Dijk spoke to liverpoolfc.com to have an in-depth chat about the season so far and future challenges.

Speaking about the second consecutive European final, he said, “It sounds pretty good! We worked hard this season, the season is almost over but obviously we have one big final push left and we are going to give everything that we have got and will see what it's going to bring us.”

Moving on to talk about the current Liverpool squad, considering their individual form and quality, he went on to add, “I think this group of players is special, at least that's what I'm feeling. Hopefully, we can stay together for at least another four or five years and achieve so many things with this group.”

The Netherlands international also spoke about the thrilling fixture against Barcelona in the semi-final saying, “We were sitting in the dressing room thinking, 'How did we lose this 3-0?' The first goal, I should have done better. The second goal was a bit of luck and the free-kick was outstanding.”

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“We had chances, we dominated and we put them under pressure. We gave them so much trouble and not a lot of teams have done that over there,” he added.

“Obviously you know that they have the best player in the world, I think that they can not even have a chance and he will score. Then it makes it even more difficult, but we did it. After the opening goal from Divock (Origi), I think everyone around started to believe as well. Everything just clicked the whole evening.”

Asked about his move to Merseyside and what he thinks about the club on a personal level, the former Celtic defender said, “Yes, it's my club definitely and I'm very proud to be wearing this shirt every day. But it's also one of the reasons when I came here - how everyone lives around Liverpool, lives and dies for the club, want to do everything for us, will be there in tough times.”

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“I think this is a real football club and you don't have too many at this level that are living and breathing for a club like Liverpool. It was a very important decision for me to make, but so far it has gone pretty well.”

Coming towards the end of the discussion, van Dijk expressed his views on the upcoming final saying, “I think we are going to play our own game, like we always have done in any game we have played. We will be prepared for any situation that is going to come across. Then it's all about us, what we do.”