Virgil Van Dijk was optimistic despite losing against PSG in the Champions League | OneFootball

Following a catastrophic Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk delivered a brutally honest assessment of his side’s complete collapse. The Reds were thoroughly dismantled at the Parc des Princes, leaving their European aspirations hanging by the thinnest of threads.

Addressing the media in the immediate aftermath of the thrashing, the veteran Dutch defender struggled to find any silver linings, pointing only to the looming second leg at Anfield as a source of desperate, fading hope for Arne Slot’s beleaguered squad.

A night to forget for Liverpool in Paris

Joao Neves of Paris Saint-Germain hugs his teammate Vitinha (Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images)

The gulf in class between the two sides was glaringly evident from the very first whistle.

PSG’s dynamic attacking contingent, spearheaded by the relentless pace and trickery of Ousmane Dembélé, Desire Doue, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, tore through Liverpool’s defensive structure with alarming ease

Reflecting on the harrowing 90 minutes, Van Dijk did not attempt to sugarcoat the bleak reality of the situation.

He said, as reported by Fabrizio Romano:

“The only positive thing is we play them again next week”.

“We had a few small moments on the break, we could have done better. I’m not happy obviously”.

Reds have a mountain to climb in the 2nd leg at Anfield

Liverpool face one of their most difficult tests next week against PSG in the Champions League.

The French club knocked out the Merseyside club from the Champions League last season and history could repeat itself.

Reds need the full support of their fans and want their manager Arne Slot to have a tactical masterclass against Luis Enrique’s side.

The French team will have an advantage due to their Ligue 1 match getting postponed which would give them a rest before the second leg, unlike Liverpool who play Fulham in the Premier League.

Anfield is globally renowned for producing miraculous European comebacks on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, but overturning this massive deficit against a rampant, confident PSG side feels like a virtually impossible task.