Van Dijk: Liverpool need something very special to happen against PSG

Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool "need something very special to happen" if they are to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final tie.

The Reds trail PSG 2-0 at the halfway stage, with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia securing a first-leg advantage for Luis Enrique's side.

This will be the fifth time that Liverpool have hosted the reigning champions from the previous season's Champions League.

They lost each of the first three (twice to Real Madrid and once to Barcelona), but won the most recent and the only one they have played under Arne Slot (2-0 versus Real Madrid in November 2024).

Liverpool have also lost four games in the Champions League this season, their joint-most in a single campaign (also 2006-07 and 2018-19).

However, the last time they lost four in 2018-19, they went on to win the trophy that season, and it is also the only time they have overturned a 2+ goal deficit from the first leg to progress (versus Barcelona in the semi-final).

Furthermore, before this season's quarter-finals, there have been 17 occasions of a team being eliminated from the Champions League knockout stages despite having a 2+ goal lead from the first leg – PSG have been on the receiving end of this more than any other side (three). 

Although Van Dijk understands the difficulty of the task at hand, the defender is relishing the chance to do something memorable at Anfield.

"We need something very special to happen otherwise we will have no chance," said the Liverpool captain.

"If we play like we did in Paris then we will have no chance anyway, in my opinion.

"The fans will probably be the most important factor, together with our performance.

"I've been very lucky to experience those nights where the connection between the fans and the performance has been unbelievable.

"There is an opportunity on Tuesday to come up with a good game plan and fight for it for 90-plus minutes.

"I am really looking forward to it. It's a privilege to be in the quarter-finals regardless. We shouldn't take that for granted.

"We have to remember we are Liverpool. We have to make it a memorable night."