Liverpool must be ready for a “big fight” when they visit Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday and are motivated to improve their recent away record in the competition, centre-back Virgil van Dijk has said.
The Merseyside club travel to Germany for the second leg of their last-16 tie after the sides played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield in last month’s first leg.
Liverpool, who finished as Champions League runners-up last year, have struggled away from home in Europe this year, losing at Napoli, Red Star Belgrade and Paris Saint-Germain in the group stages.
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“The group stage games were not as good as we wanted, but we got through to the knockout phase,” Van Dijk told British media. “It’s going to be tough and we need to do better than we did in the last away games in the Champions League.
“We want to do everything that is possible to get through.”
Bayern were happy to sit back and defend in the first leg, but Van Dijk is anticipating a slightly more open game in the reverse fixture and is confident his team can prosper from UEFA’s away goals rule.
“There will be times when we’re under pressure because they have a lot of quality,” he added. “But we will definitely have our own moments because of the quality we have as well.
“We need to be up for a big fight because they are probably going to come all in, especially in the beginning.
“To keep a clean sheet in the first leg is always good for both teams but we know if we score they need to score two. That’s how it is. We want to win the game and go through. Hopefully we can get the job done.”