Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has shared his expectations for the upcoming clash with Chelsea. The Dutch defender acknowledged the quality of their opponents and highlighted that the Merseysiders will need to put in maximum effort to progress to the next round.
"Like in our previous round against Tottenham, we are facing a very dangerous opponent in Chelsea," van Dijk stated.
"They'll be disappointed with the result they got at the weekend, but they've got plenty of talented players in their ranks. We need to perform at a really high level if we want to make it to the fifth round."
The defender also reflected on the recent victory over Brighton, praising the team's commitment and solid defensive display:
"I think we showed a lot of really good things in Sunday’s game. We knew we had to work hard as a team for the three points, and we did that excellently. The commitment of every player, the desire to fight, defend, and keep a clean sheet was top-notch."
It’s worth noting that Chelsea suffered a disappointing home defeat against Tottenham on October 24, losing 2-0. The Blues had a rough night, conceding an own goal from goalkeeper Mike Penders in the 77th minute, being reduced to ten men after Cole Palmer's red card, and Matis Thel sealing the scoreline in the closing moments.
