Not realistic to think about title right now, admits Virgil Van Dijk

Not realistic to think about title right now, admits Virgil Van Dijk

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With the international break over, the media focus is back on Liverpool and Virgil Van Dijk has revealed that thinking about the title now makes no sense. The Red are on an incredible winning run and face Manchester United next in a bid to, equal Manchester City’s record and, go 18 wins on the trot.

Liverpool currently sit atop the Premier League table with eight points separating them and reigning champions Manchester City. The Cityzens’ 2-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break has helped the Reds in their battle to get their first-ever Premier League title and they also happen to be on par to equal Manchester City’s winning run. The Cityzens ran away with the title in Pep Guardiola’s second season and with an 18 game-winning run helping their cause becoming the first team in the history of the Premier League to break the 100 point mark.

Liverpool have 17 consecutive wins to their name and with a battle against Manchester United next on their list, the Reds have a chance to make it 18. However, Virgil Van Dijk has brushed aside the incredible expectations that sit on their shoulders and went on to admit that Liverpool have nothing to lose with many considering Manchester City as the favourites to win the title again. He further added that all Jurgen Klopp and company have to do is go for the title and take things one game at a time.

"I don't think we have anything to lose. Man City are the champions, they're defending their title and we want to get it. In my point of view, we just have to go for it. The pressure gets bigger, but that comes from the media. They love to put more pressure on us and that's something we have to deal with. I don't mind because I'm not thinking about what other people say, I just want to win every game that is ahead of me,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports.

"We definitely need to enjoy it [being top of the Premier League] and be full of confidence, especially with the way we've got these points, having not had the best games but still getting the wins. There are so many games left, you can't really think about it [winning the title] - it's not realistic. We shouldn't and we don't, but it's the better situation to be in.”

The Reds travel to Old Trafford for arguably one of the biggest games in world football, despite the state that Manchester United currently find themselves in. The Red Devils have struggled this season and sit just two points above the relegation zone and an incredible 15 points behind Liverpool. But their injury concerns have caused Ole Gunnar Solskjaer problems with David De Gea and Paul Pogba confirmed to miss the game. Van Dijk went on to add that while it is not the ideal situation for the Red Devils they will still be a genuine problem for Liverpool and the Reds need to take the game seriously.

“For them, it is not the ideal situation to lose your first-choice goalkeeper, one of the best in the world, and one of their main midfielders. They will be disappointed but for us, we just want to focus on ourselves. They want to bounce back for all they've done this season and it's not what they've wanted so far, but we want to go out there and extend our points tally and keep winning.

"They're not in the best way, they're not fully confident and they're not in the situation they want to be in. But the good thing about football is you can bounce back in any game. They might think this is the best occasion to bounce back from it but we know that. We want to go out and fight for every metre on the pitch and try and take the three points back to Liverpool,” concluded Van Dijk.

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