Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk believes the team's 2-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League was 'well deserved' on Wednesday.
The Reds had to dig deep to emerge from the first leg of their last-16 showdown victorious, as a header from Roberto Firmino and a deflected effort from Mohamed Salah were enough to earn a big win.
Throughout the game, there were spells when Inter were on top and while they didn't really work Alisson Becker in goal, their final pass let them down frequently in promising areas.
In the end, Liverpool's extra quality and superior strength in depth showed and Van Dijk told beIN Sports at full-time he thinks they were good value for the victory.
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"It was tough," he said. "It was more tough for Inter in my opinion.
"Well-deserved win. We had to work hard and that's something we expected before the game - this is the Champions League, Inter is the reigning champions of Italy so we know it was going to be a battle.
"We had to find a way and make sure we got a good result to take back with us to Liverpool. 2-0 away and a clean sheet is very important."
Van Dijk was asked about the second leg and whether Liverpool already had a big enough margin to advance.
*RATE THE LIVERPOOL PLAYERS FOR THE WIN OVER INTER MILAN:
"No, anything is still possible," was Van Dijk's emphatic response. "We should be looking forward to the game in Liverpool and same as today - we were ready for the battle, we knew it was going to be tough, we will be under pressure at times, we knew we would have to suffer.
"The same will probably be in Liverpool. We have a good result at the moment but the tie is not over. They will still believe that - we will have to make sure we are ready."
The second leg will be played on March 8 and before that fixture Jurgen Klopp's side will have Premier League and FA Cup fixtures and a Carabao Cup final to fulfil.
