Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has defended the tackle he made on Napoli forward Dries Mertens in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. 

In the 1-0 win for the Reds, the Dutch defender picked up a yellow card for a challenge on his opponent in the first period. While Van Dijk won the ball, he followed through and caught Mertens high on the ankle.

After Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti said VAR would have seen Van Dijk red-carded, the Netherlands international said it was a fair challenge, per Mark Critchley of The Independent.

"I don't think it was a bad challenge at all," said Van Dijk. "Unfortunately I touched him, but I would never go in to hurt him or anything like that. I had the ball and obviously the wet pitch you slide through and I touched him, but that's football."

Ancelotti had a different opinion on the incident, per Sky Sports. "From the video it is a red card," said the Italian. "There are a lot of questions about VAR, but when VAR comes in the Champions League it will be too late."

The win for Liverpool, thanks to a first-half goal from Mohamed Salah, saw them into the next stage of the Champions League at the expense of their opponents. Napoli will now play in the UEFA Europa League in 2019.

As Ancelotti noted, VAR technology is set to be implemented for the knockout stages of the Champions League. It's now in place in La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga, while it was recently confirmed the Premier League agreed to utilise the system from 2019-20.

Opinion was divided on social media regarding the challenge from Van Dijk. ESPN FC's Mark Ogden thought the Dutchman was lucky to stay on the field:

Liam Twomey of ESPN FC believed the right decision was made:

If Liverpool had been reduced to 10 men and had to play without their star defender for much of the game the outcome of the contest may have been different.

That Van Dijk remained on the field was pivotal, as he was arguably the standout player for the Reds on another night when the team defended fantastically well. 

Football journalist Leanne Prescott praised his display on Tuesday:

The booking for Van Dijk against Napoli does mean he will be absent for the first leg of the round-of-16 clash due to suspension. 

Liverpool do have issues in defence at the moment in terms of available personnel, with Joe Gomez set for six weeks on the sidelines; Joel Matip was reportedly assessed at hospital on Tuesday after the clash with Napoli, while Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off in the second half Tuesday night.

The first games in the knockout rounds of the competition will be played on February 12.