Liverpool hero Virgil Van Dijk has sent a warning to Real Madrid hitman Karim Benzema ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris. The Frenchman has been in frightening form of late but van Dijk has insisted he has what it takes to stop Benzema, telling the star ‘I’m not a bad player myself’ as he looks to get his hands on the illustrious trophy for the second time in his career.
Van Dijk has faced the former Lyon star once in his club career in the 2018 final, where his side came unstuck thanks to a catalogue of Loris Karius errors and a Gareth Bale screamer. Four years and two days have passed since then, with Liverpool undeniably becoming an even stronger side under Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds remain on course to register just the second treble of any English club in the Premier League era, after arch-rivals Manchester United accomplished the feat in 1999. Standing in Van Dijk’s way and preparing to ruin their title celebrations is Benzema, who has been in excellent form for the past 12 months.
The 34-year-old has 44 goals and 15 assists in just 45 games this season, with 15 of those goals coming in just 11 Champions League appearances. Benzema’s stunning form has not been lost on van Dijk but the Dutchman wanted to remind the Real Madrid dangerman of his own capabilities when discussing their anticipated head-to-head battle.
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“Well, to be fair this season I have quite enjoyed watching him!” Van Dijk said to BT Sport. “Hopefully, it will be a good game for us, but he has a lot of quality. Obviously, he is not the whole team.
“In order for him to get into play he needs to get the ball, and obviously if the ball is somewhere else and we do it all together, that is how football works. He has been outstanding, important with goals, he is their leader I think. I don’t know if he is focally, but in a way of how he presents himself.
“Yeah, he is a big player for them, he has been at the club for 10 years, and this is the year when he really feels he gets all the credit he deserves. But, I’m not a bad player myself and I will look forward to this challenge together with the rest of the guys and we’ll see what it will bring.”
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