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Virgil van Dijk is relishing the challenge of locking horns with Roma top scorer Edin Dzeko in Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final first leg at Anfield.

The Dutch defender excelled in the quarter-final triumph over Manchester City and will have another big part to play as the Reds look to stay on course for Kiev.

Former Manchester City striker Dzeko bagged his 20th goal of the season in Roma’s stunning fightback against Barcelona in the last round but Van Dijk says he will be ready for him.

“I have not played against Dzeko before but everyone knows the result against Barcelona,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard about it. We were celebrating on the pitch at the time but great stuff for them.

“They are a very good team. We know they have a lot of quality but I don’t fear anyone. We will know more about them on Monday when we will have a good meeting.

“I know they are a top team and we have to be ready. We play a different style to Roma.”

Having been the underdogs against City, Liverpool will be cast as favourites against Roma, who haven’t reached this stage of the competition since 1984.

(Image: Marco Rosi/Getty Images)

That brings pressure but Van Dijk has urged Jurgen Klopp’s side to embrace the opportunity facing them.

“We just need to focus on our chances,” he said.

“We have a massive game at Anfield first and hopefully we can get a good result. It will be hard work and we need to be ready for anything. Then obviously we’ll have a tough game in Rome.

“We need to enjoy it because not many players or teams come to this stage and have the chance of getting to a final.”

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It’s been a season of contrasting emotions for Van Dijk. He spent the first half of the campaign in a struggling Southampton side after seeing his hopes of moving to Anfield dashed last summer.

However, since January, when Liverpool shattered their transfer record to make him the most expensive defender on the planet, the £75million centre-back has gone from strength to strength. Less than four months into his Reds career he will be lining up in the club’s first Champions League semi-final for a decade.

“I was hoping for that but to be fair it has been like a rollercoaster,” he said.

“I keep playing week in week out and it goes so fast. We have a maximum of six games left, a couple of friendlies with the national team and then rest for four weeks and start again.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“2018 is not that bad! 2017 was a nightmare because of the injury.”

Van Dijk’s quality and composure has helped Liverpool make big improvements defensively in recent months. The Reds regressed in the closing stages of Saturday’s Premier League clash at lowly West Brom when they threw away a 2-0 lead to leave Klopp fuming.

However, Van Dijk insists there’s no reason to be concerned ahead of the return to the European stage.

“Of course everyone gets upset and the way we conceded those goals is something to be angry about,” he added.

“We need to be honest with ourselves and everyone was. We need to do better. You have to tell each other the truth.

“But there is no reason to panic. West Brom are fighting for their lives so in the end they were very direct. We didn’t deal with the set-pieces how we should have but I am not worried at all.

“It was just roles we had and didn’t follow. We need to switch on again and do the same things that we always did. I think we should be fine. It is a massive opportunity to get a good result on Tuesday than could help us reach the final. There is no need to stress at all.”