Virgil Van Dijk: Inter Milan are vulnerable

Virgil Van Dijk ahead of the first leg which finished 3-3. Picture: SNS

VIRGIL van Dijk believes Celtic can prosper against Internazionale because their Italian opponents have already shown they are vulnerable in defence.

The Celtic defender flew to Milan with team-mates this morning as they seek the victory – or unlikely high-scoring draw – that would secure a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.

A 3-3 first leg draw means Celtic know they need to score to progress. Van Dijk believes he saw enough in the first-leg to suggest Ronny Deila’s side can profit from the tendency of their opponents to want to play their way out of trouble.

This was a factor in Celtic’s ability to comeback from two down against Inter last week.

“They gave us some possibilities in the first match,” he said. “They try and play every time they are under pressure so that gives us hope. But we also need to start the game better. Everyone already knows that.

“We lost two unlucky goals, I think, and it made for a difficult beginning for ourselves,” he added. “At that point you don’t want to concede any more – especially bad goals like that.

Van Dijk added that he is delighted John Guidetti is back on the goalscoring trail. As well as scoring the equaliser against Inter, the Swede netted in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Hamilton.