Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool are not on a revenge mission ahead of hosting defending Champions League holders Real Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday evening.

Arne Slot’s side are the only team to win all four of their matches in the 2024/25 competition, having beaten Milan, Bologna, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen. They go into Madrid as favorites after their impressive start to the season and will look to secure their place in the knockout stages.

Real Madrid is the team Liverpool has lost to the most times in European competition. The Reds have lost seven times to the La Liga giants, including heartbreaking Champions League final losses in 2018 and 2022.

Liverpool have failed to secure a win in their last eight attempts against Carlo Ancelotti’s side. The last time the two teams met was in the 2022/2023 round of 16, when Madrid defeated Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield before qualifying ended with a 1-0 home win.

Since moving to Anfield, Van Dijk has suffered four defeats to Real Madrid, including the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals. Ahead of the crucial home match, the Liverpool captain claims he is ready to take on the La champions League.

“To be absolutely honest, I don’t need the fuel (of revenge) to be absolutely ready,” said Van Dijk. “But it’s the Champions League, it’s a huge game, a great game for the neutral team and we want to be at the top and come out of there with a win.

“Listen, the fact is I’ve never beaten them. That record (no wins in eight) is a very disappointing statistic, so it comes down to recovery and preparing for a big one and I’m looking forward to it.”

Liverpool host Manchester City in the league on Sunday and reveal how he is preparing for two games, Van Dijk added: “I eat well and drink well. I use the sauna, use the ice bath and sleep well.

“And tomorrow (Monday) is a recovery session, we do different exercises, yoga and meditation to get your body in perfect condition and eating and sleeping are obviously big things, but there are other things that I do myself at home, in the pool , the sauna, the ice bath and the cycle goes on and on. It’s all part of it.

“I’m enjoying every week playing for Liverpool and playing at the highest level. So I’m looking forward to it.”

“An important start to a big week? Let’s hope so. It was always going to be difficult after the break, it’s never an easy game and you have to get back into it and get back to what we want to do, tactically, defensively, so the first half wasn’t good but we turned it around with more energy , more dominance on the ball and the three points is all that matters.

“I think we have to find a way to win and we did that in the second half, we kept pushing. In my opinion we deserved a win. It was very difficult to play against, they take risks in possession and you must be strong.” to keep going and like I said, we found a way to win and now we’re focusing on Wednesday.

“It’s not just about focusing, but it’s a big part of it and sometimes we had to be willing to suffer because there were always times when they broke through the press and then we had to do it together. So I’m satisfied with the three points.”