Virgil van Dijk has hailed Jurgen Klopp as the “complete manager” ahead of Liverpool's crunch Champions League showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad.

The £75million centre-back says playing for the German coach has surpassed all his expectations since he joined the club in January.

Klopp produced a tactical masterclass in last week's 3-0 first-leg win over City at Anfield and Van Dijk is confident the Reds have the game plan required to finish the job off on Tuesday night and book their place in the semi-finals.

“Jurgen is the complete manager,” Van Dijk said.

“He is a fantastic team manager and player manager as well.

“The passion he shows on the touchline stays more in people’s minds because that is what you see, but he is much more than that.

“You don’t see all the hard work we put in behind the scenes. He has shown already that he is an outstanding manager.

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“I knew that from day one that it was the right decision to come here.”

(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Van Dijk snubbed interest from both City and Chelsea before completing his record-breaking move to Anfield.

The most expensive defender in the world hasn't looked back since – swapping a relegation battle with Southampton for a shot at European glory with the resurgent Reds.

“I wanted to come to Liverpool, I wanted to make the next step here and I want to win trophies like everyone in our team,” he said.

“I am enjoying every minute of it. I don’t know which other decisions I could have made. Do you know?

“Southampton, Liverpool and me came to an agreement which was right for me and my family. If you look around, Liverpool is the perfect fit. That is how I feel and I hope it will be like that for years to come.”

Van Dijk has proved an instant hit. He has brought leadership and organisation to a backline which looked so vulnerable earlier in the campaign.

Liverpool head for the Etihad on the back of eight clean sheets in their last dozen matches. But trying to keep out City in their own backyard will be their greatest test.

“I’m never nervous. I am just excited,” Van Dijk said.

“I think: ‘Look where I am, playing for the semi-finals of the Champions League with my team. Just enjoy it and love it'. We are 3-0 up in a massive game and it's a fantastic opportunity.

(Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“I always have been calm, sometimes a little too much. Sometimes that cost me back in the day to be fair.

“But what we do as players is something you need to enjoy. If everything goes well I will play until 36 or 37 hopefully and then football is over, so just enjoy it. Sometimes you lose, but if you win the feeling is amazing.

“I like pressure anyway. You want the challenge and to have that feeling you need to push yourself otherwise it becomes a little bit boring. I think with Liverpool every day is a challenge in training.

“You are playing against one of the best strikers in Europe. I am enjoying every bit of it.

“I want to sit down when I am retired and think I did everything possible to get the best out of myself, not be thinking: ‘I should have done that or worked a little bit harder'.”

(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Van Dijk shrugged off the significance of City being able to unleash 30-goal top scorer Sergio Aguero, who missed the first leg due to injury.

“If we defend the way we did the other night against them it does not matter who plays as a striker,” he added.

“If our players up front and in midfield do what they did then it makes it a lot easier.

“They need to come at us but we cannot go there and think we are going to defend. We have to play our game. We always have opportunities to score and we need to keep it tight.

"These games against City are definitely a reason why I wanted to play for Liverpool. I am enjoying every bit of it. I love the club already."