Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has hailed the team's firepower after their Champions League defeat of Villarreal.

With the Reds' second goal in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Villarreal, Sadio Mane became the third player to net 20 times for the club this season, emulating Mohamed Salah – who teed up the strike for his fellow attacker – and Diogo Jota.

That achievement followed on from Luis Diaz and Divock Origi combining to seal victory in the Merseyside derby last weekend, after another Salah assist, as the firepower at Jürgen Klopp's disposal keeps his side in contention for a quadruple.

"They are so important for us at the moment. I don't want to be facing any of our strikers, to be fair," Van Dijk toldLiverpoolfc.com after the Champions League semi-final first-leg success.

“Diogo from the bench, Luis, Mo, Sadio, it's incredible, Divock the last game. We are in a good moment, everyone is pushing each other and we'll try to keep that going, and the amount of work they put in is incredible as well.

"We know we have to be very mature there as well, we know it's going to be tough, probably a little hostile atmosphere, but it's something we should enjoy as well.

“You don't get to the final the easy way, it's never the case, especially at this stage of the Champions League. You play against fantastic teams. So, it will be tough there but we have to be confident, work hard for the full 95 minutes and hopefully we can get the job done."