Virgil can Dijk declares himself fit for Champions League final

Real Madrid have had the luxury of resting, relaxing and preparing for the Champions League final since their semi-final victory against Manchester City. As a result, they have only mild fitness concerns over Eden Hazard and David Alaba in the lead up to the final.

Liverpool haven’t had such luxuries. Involved in a Premier League title race that went right down to the wire on the final day and also winning an FA Cup final on penalties, this week has been the first in considerable time they haven’t had a midweek fixture. Their injury issues have bitten right through the spine of the team, including Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk, while Mohamed Salah returned on Sunday.

Yet those issues appear to be alleviating. Jurgen Klopp was optimistic about Thiago’s fitness on Wednesday and Fabinho looks set to make the match too.

Speaking to the media, van Dijk also said that he would be fit to face Real Madrid on Saturday.

“I feel perfectly well and I am eagerly awaiting a special night.”

Those comments were made to Mundo Deportivo, then explaining the difference between the Liverpool that were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final and this one.

“We have grown a lot, we have more experience and some new players and plenty of others that are still here.”

“Our way of playing has changed, it was our first final together. When you experience a final, you take a lot of things from it, it happened to us in Madrid. We are playing against one of the best teams in the history of the Champions League and we will have to be very good in order to lift, fingers crossed, the trophy.”

Real Madrid have proved a puzzling opponent for all three of their knockout rounds, with Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City all left feeling they had the tie in their hands at some point.

As much as anything else, Liverpool’s task will be ensuring that Real Madrid cannot build momentum in Paris.

Tags Champions League Liverpool Real Madrid Virgil van Dijk
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