Virgil van Dijk believes that Liverpool are going to be targeted by other teams because of the status of reigning Champions League title holders.
The Reds fell to Napoli 2-0 at the San Paolo earlier this week, but that’s far from a disaster as we did lose there last season too.
The Serie A outfit took the lead through a controversial penalty gifted to them by the referee, after an Andy Robertson tackle prompted Jose Callejon to hit the deck.
Big Virg was asked if he thinks the Reds will be targeted this season as they’re the title holders. “Yes, but I think everyone wants to beat us no matter what competition. That’s something we have to deal with but it’s not going to be a problem at all,” he told the club’s official website.
“We have to enjoy that as well and I think for them to win their first game is obviously big. For us to lose our first game is obviously not what we wanted but the only thing we can do is try to win all the other games and now focus on Chelsea.”
I think van Dijk is right – everyone wants to beat us. Even in the Premier League, opposition managers talk about wanting to get a win at Anfield as if it’s a trophy.
The same will be said of us in Europe this year too, after our electric performance against Barcelona stunned the football world. Not to mention we also went on to lift the trophy!