Virgil van Dijk in candid Rangers Champions League confession as he names Liverpool X-factor that is 'creeping away'

Gutted Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool have to quickly get back to winning ways against Rangers in the Champions League after defeat to Arsenal.

The former Celtic favourite was visibly distraught after the disappointing 3-2 defeat to the Gunners which saw Mikel Arteta's side climb back to the top of English Premier League, while Jurgen Klopp's side are a mammoth 14 points behind the league leaders at this early stage of the season. Attention quickly moves back to European football for last season's Champions League finalists when they travel to Ibrox on Wednesday.

Gio van Bronckhorst's men will look to get off the mark in Group A in front a full house in Govan, with Rangers showing signs of returning to their best form once again on Saturday in the 4-0 demolition of St Mirren. Van Dijk admits the game is becoming a must-win for Liverpool as the Reds look to quickly rebuild their confidence before facing Manchester City next Saturday.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "Behind the scenes where no-one sees, we do all of the hard work and try to improve to get back to the level where we are supposed to be. Confidence is definitely a thing, that plays a part, we are human beings.

"Sometimes you need confidence in certain moments, and if your confidence is not high, that cannot help you in certain situations, whatever one you are in you need that.

"If you are not winning regularly like we need to, then confidence is creeping away, but we know it can turn around as well. We have to work hard, that is the only thing to do.

"We know the league is going to be a tough one, but first of all we need to look at what we can do better. We have to focus on winning in the Champions League first, then back to the league. The games