Wirtz denies Van Dijk, Liverpool ready to salvage Champions League chance against PSG

JAKARTA - Florian Wirtz denied Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk's claim that the Reds surrendered during the 0-4 defeat in the FA Cup against Manchester City on Saturday, April 4, 2026.

He stressed that the incident in the FA Cup would not be repeated. Wirtz said the Reds would not fail to perform optimally for 90 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League on Thursday, April 9, 2026, early morning WIB, to maintain their chances.

Liverpool face last season's Champions League winners in Paris just four days after a humiliating FA Cup defeat at the Etihad - a game that saw thousands of Reds fans leave the stadium early for the poor performance of Arne Slot's players.

After the defeat, defender Van Dijk made a statement that criticized his team.

"You can't give up and maybe, at some point, that's what happened," he said.

However, speaking in Paris ahead of the match, Wirtz said he disagreed with Van Dijk's comments. He said Liverpool's players continued to create chances against Manchester City despite the final score against Pep Guardiola's team being disappointing.

"I don't know what Van Dijk said, but I don't think I would immediately agree because we are still trying to create opportunities to turn things around."

"Of course, when the game goes on longer. In the 80th minute or more and you are 0-3 behind, it is also mentally difficult to keep fighting and we just try to give our best in the game."

"When the score is 0-3 or 0-4, we still have some chances, but it's not our standard to lose 0-4 against Manchester City," said Wirtz.

Wirtz, who was brought in from Bayer Leverkusen for £116 million last summer, said Liverpool must perform better against PSG to have any hope of defending their chances ahead of next week's second leg at Anfield.

"Of course, we need 90 minutes full of energy and commitment tomorrow. Otherwise, we won't have any chances."

"We need 90 minutes together as a team, even in difficult moments. If we concede, we have to stay united and believe that we can still win this game and we still have the second game at home."

"It's a very big tournament, Champions League games are always special. So, we try to enjoy it and get through this round now."

"We know it's difficult because the best teams in the world play in the Champions League. However, it's good to play against these teams."

"I think we have shown this season that we are good in big games, especially in Champions League games."

"We believe in ourselves. We have a good group with good characters and great players, also a good manager who tries to prepare us well for the game."

"The second match at home may be an advantage. So, we try to do our best and come up with a good result to Anfield," said Wirtz.