Virgil van Dijk responds to Liverpool record with 'honest' claim before Real Madrid

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has insisted he doesn't need any additional motivation ahead of facing Real Madrid in the Champions League — with the Reds defender never having beaten the Spanish giant before during his career.

Real Madrid has beaten Liverpool in two Champions League finals since Van Dijk arrived on Merseyside and has also knocked the Reds out of Europe twice in the knockout phase. But heading into this week's clash at Anfield, it is Liverpool leading the way in the new-look group stage with Real Madrid in need of the points having already lost to Lille and AC Milan.

"To be absolutely honest with you, I don't need fuel [of revenge] to be absolutely ready," Van Dijk said, via the ECHO. "But it's the Champions League, it's a massive game, a beautiful fixture for the neutral and we want to be on top and come out of it with a win.

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"Listen, the fact is that I have never beaten them. That record (no wins in eight) is a very disappointing stat so it's down to recovery and getting ready for a big one and I am looking forward to it."

Van Dijk was speaking after his side had won 3-2 at Southampton to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table. And the Reds are set to play Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.

"An important start to a big week? Let's hope so," Van Dijk added. "It was always going to be difficult after the break, it is never an easy game and you have to get back into it and back to what we want to do, tactically, defending, so the first half was not 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 keep going and like I said, we found a way to win and now we focus on Wednesday."

Liverpool.com says: With Real Madrid having so many injuries, Liverpool does have a real chance to make its mark this midweek. If Arne Slot could another win, it would be more than just another step towards the knockout phase. It would be another big statement of intent at the beginning of his tenure on a completely different level to the 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen last time out.