2 hours Ago By [email protected] (Chris McKenna)
Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool won’t be thinking the Premier League title is almost won if they open up an 11-point gap on Manchester City on Sunday. Both Pep Guardiola and Ilkay Gundogan insisted this week it will be curtains for City's hopes of winning five in a row if they lose at Anfield. Liverpool are in command, also sitting nine points ahead of Arsenal and Chelsea heading into the weekend.
But Reds skipper Van Dijk won’t be putting the champagne on ice if they continue their stunning start to the season by beating the defending Premier League champions after they dominated the current European Cup holders on Wednesday. “We are going to be in December on Sunday and there are still five months to go,” said Van Dijk after the 2-0 win over Real Madrid . “Obviously we want to win the game but we know what they are capable of and first and foremost we have to be ready for that challenge and whatever happens after that we have to keep going and stay calm.
” Van Dijk is expecting City - who have not won in their last six games and have lost five of those - to hit a purple patch at some point this season. “For a reason they won [the title] four times in a row,” he said. “We have to be ready for a very difficult one at the weekend and we will be.
“Obviously, they are not in the best form of their lives, I think injuries play a big part in that. We as a team have been in a situation like that with loads of injuries and it is never easy to then find consistency and the confidence. “But I know, like everyone else who understands football and has seen Man City over the last few years, they can turn it around at any moment.
“Hopefully not on Sunday but we have to be at our best to get a result and that's what we are aiming for.” City are famed for their post-Christmas runs which have seen them hunt down the likes of Arsenal’s eight-point lead in the campaign before last. So there’s a reason why Van Dijk may be wary while the threat of City getting their first win at Anfield under Guardiola with a crowd in attendance means the gap at the top could also be five points come 6.
30pm on Sunday. “We should not look at anyone but ourselves,” he said. “As long as we are consistent, getting points on the board, that is all that matters.
That is what we are focusing on. “I want to make sure we as a team are winning games, finding ways to win the game, working our socks off and staying calm.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.
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