Van Dijk: facing "best in world" Messi will be a daunting task

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted that he is daunted by the prospect of facing Lionel Messi in the Champions League semi-finals.

Van Dijk scored as Liverpool sealed their place in the last four with a 4-1 win over Porto on Wednesday, giving the Reds a 6-1 aggregate victory.

Next up are Catalan giants Barcelona and their mercurial superstar Messi – who helped eliminate Manchester United on Tuesday with two goals.

And facing the Argentina international is something Van Dijk knows will not be easy.

Van Dijk on Messi: "It's never one vs one"

"It's going to be a great match-up for all of us," Van Dijk told Viasport Fotball. "It's about doing it all together, it's never one versus one, it's never just me against a particular striker.

"It's always us against everyone and I think that's the only way we can defend well.

"And it's going to be very hard and I think he [Messi] is the best player in the world but we'll see."

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Alisson will inherit the number one shirt from the start of the 2019-20 season, the club confirmed as they launched their new kit.

The Brazilian has been wearing 13 since his arrival from Roma and has been a key player in their title challenge, with 18 clean sheets.