Virgil van Dijk concedes Liverpool were made to ‘suffer’ in the Champions League at San Siro by ‘very good team’ Inter before emerging with a 2-0 victory.
The Nerazzurri had dominated for long periods and rattled the woodwork with Hakan Calhanoglu, while Edin Dzeko had a goal ruled offside.
However, the Reds held on and snatched the result in the final stages with a Roberto Firmino header on a corner and Mohamed Salah through a sea of legs.
Champions League | Inter 0-2 Liverpool: Clinical finishing the difference
“Tough place to come, a very good team, difficult to break down and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the crowd,” Van Dijk told BT Sport.
“Set-piece again and it’s a good strength of ours. A good result to take back to Anfield. You try everything and they did very well defensively, but Bobby found the space and a great goal. It is a well-deserved win, very hard work.”
Did Liverpool expect to struggle so much at San Siro, especially considering Inter were missing suspended Nicolò Barella?
“Everyone expects to be under pressure, it is the Champions League. The message before was you need to be ready to suffer and do the hard work. It is a very good performance, clean sheet and happy days.”
“Everyone expected to be under pressure because they’re a very good team. It’s the Champions League.”
“You need to be ready to suffer, to do the hard work.”
Virgil van Dijk was delighted with the determination Liverpool showed against Inter this evening 💪
🎙 @TheDesKelly pic.twitter.com/b5TlHhzLlk
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 16, 2022
What a great defender 👍 you deserve the man of match
The Inter fans and Susy – Juventus biggest hater couldn’t wait to jump on this consolation of a statement by Van Dijk. Good luck at Anfield!