Van Dijk on Liverpool Title Push: “We Have to Have Tunnel Vision”
Liverpool know they can’t get carried away thinking the Premier League is already won with 11 games still to play.
Liverpool’s 2-0 win over defending champions Manchester City on Sunday was a statement victory, pushing the Reds 11 points clear of chasers Arsenal with 11 games to play and shifting the narrative to something of a coronation.
Heading into the weekend, there had been a feeling the Reds were mired in something of a mid-season slump, albeit a mild one. After, they were untouchable. Captain Virgil van Dijk, though, doesn’t have any interest in that new narrative.
“I spoke in the dressing room after the game about the need to stay calm and keep focusing on what is in front of us,” Van Dijk noted in his pre-match notes as he and his teammates prepare to take on Newcastle on Wednesday evening.
“I know the wider world will want to put us on a pedestal now and talk about the league table and things like this, but that is for them to worry about, not us. Us, we have to have tunnel vision: next game, next game, next game.
“That is the way it has been all season, and it has served us well so far, so why change now? We began our preparations for Newcastle the second the final whistle blew at the Etihad, because we know how big a test this game will be.”
Newcastle were a difficult opponent for Liverpool the last time out, drawing them 3-3 in a wild, back and forth match that saw Mohamed Salah’s presumed 83rd minute winner cancelled out in the 90th by a Fabian Schär strike.
The Reds have also had just two days to recover after leaving it all on the pitch on Sunday against City. Even at Anfield, even with the backing of the crowd in a mid-week kickoff under the lights, this is going to be a difficult game.
“We know all about the threat they will pose,” Van Dijk added. “We have to be ready for that, and we will be. We also need our fans to be on fire from the first whistle, which I know you will be. We know how important Anfield is to us.
“Hopefully we use it to our advantage in the coming weeks, with seven of our remaining 11 league games to be played at home. Let’s make Anfield amazing for these games, as loud as we can, and as difficult for our opponents as possible.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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