Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool, has acknowledged that the Reds are aiming to win the Europa League after admitting they “did not deserve” to be in the Champions League this year.
The 2022–23 season was incredibly disappointing for Liverpool, who missed out on the Champions League for the first time since the 2016–17 season. Jurgen Klopp’s team was forced to accept a spot in the Europa League, which is known for its punishing travel requirements and increased number of games.
On Thursday, when they play Austrian team LASK, their season officially begins. Van Dijk stated that Liverpool intends to compete at the highest level.
“We all wanted before the season ended last year to be in the Champions League,” he said. “That’s what we fought for but, unfortunately, we didn’t deserve it.
“What we deserved was the Europa League so we’re going to give it everything that we have – and we want to give it everything we have. We want to try to win it, but it doesn’t happen overnight so we have to work for it and that starts [against LASK].”
The only significant competition Klopp has not won while at Liverpool is the Europa League, and the manager echoed Van Dijk’s desire to take home the trophy.
“We are here to compete, not to give opportunities,” he told a press conference. “My first year I thought the Europa League was a bit too much for us until we got to the final. We had to fly to Russia, played on a frozen pitch in Sion.
“That was a different squad. We were not ready and we came through somehow. I don’t think we were exceptional until the quarter-final, semi-final.
“It is a different time, a different team. We are better prepared. We enjoy it more to be here because we had no clue at that time what to expect.
“We have to be motivated and we are excited to play in the Europa League. I didn’t watch the Champions League [this week], I didn’t miss the anthem.”