Virgil van Dijk Believes Liverpool Can Come Back vs. Barcelona; Praises Messi

Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has said the team are still confident they can progress to the UEFA Champions League final.

The Reds have given themselves a mountain to climb in the second leg of their semi-final with Barcelona, as they were beaten 3-0 at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. The two teams will meet again on Tuesday, with the winners to play either Tottenham Hotspur or Ajax in the competition's final.

Liverpool performed well for long spells of the game in Barcelona before they were undone by some Lionel Messi magic late on.

The long-range free-kick he scored put the Blaugrana three goals up on the night (U.S. only):

"When you come up against Messi and he produces his best form, you can't do anything. I'm grateful that I'm not in Spain and I don't have to face him every season. He scored two goals and I leave very disappointed. He won the battle but not the war," Van Dijk said, per Sport.

Despite the deficit and no away goal scored, Van Dijk said there is a belief among the squad they can turn things around, per Carl Markham of The Independent:

"I am disappointed but the result on the scoresheet does not really reflect how well we played and what the game was like.

"We had some big chances—should have scored one and they could have scored a fourth—but it is 3-0 and we have a big job to do at Anfield. But we have shown throughout the season that we never give up. We need everyone to be together and let's see how it goes.

"The only thing is that we can only keep believing and keep working hard for each other and stay positive and there is no reason to panic. We believe. We will keep believing."

After the game, manager Jurgen Klopp seemed a little more downbeat than the Dutch defender, per BT Sport:

Van Dijk, who was recently crowned the PFA Player of the Year, has endured a couple of torrid nights at the Camp Nou as a Celtic and Liverpool player:

The Reds have experienced an excellent campaign and have enjoyed some tremendous comebacks in European competition previously. Liverpool famously won the 2005 Champions League final on penalties after a 3-3 draw with AC Milan; they were three goals down at half-time.

While that remains the finest comeback in football history for many, overturning the tie against Barcelona will be just as daunting a challenge. A goal for the visitors at Anfield would leave Liverpool needing at least five to progress.

According to Spanish football journalist Jason Pettigrove, the supporters are still hopeful:

The atmosphere will be lively at Anfield on Tuesday, and an early goal for Liverpool will ignite the tie. After all, Barcelona were knocked out of the competition at the quarter-final stage a year ago after losing the second leg 3-0 to Roma; they'd beaten the Italian side 4-1 at home.

Given the quality they have in the squad and their historic pedigree in the Champions League, Liverpool are one of a few teams capable of putting together this type of comeback. It's imperative they find a way to better contain Messi, though.