Virgil van Dijk: Forget Liverpool - Man Utd must beat Man City for themselves

AFP/Getty Images
Tom Doyle22 April 2019

Virgil van Dijk has called for Manchester United to "do themselves a favour" against Manchester City as Liverpool seek to win their first League title in 29 years.

James Milner's nerveless 81st-minute penalty sealed a 2-0 victory at Cardiff on Easter Sunday to ease Liverpool back above Man City in the Premier League table.

City had regained top spot with their revenge win over Tottenham a little more than 24 hours earlier, but Liverpool now sit two points ahead of the champions - albeit having played a game more.

Pep Guardiola's side now face a huge Manchester derby on Wednesday night: should City win that game in hand, they would be heavy favourites to retain their title.

United need to win to boost their hopes of a top-four finish, and Van Dijk believes the Red Devils will be more concerned with winning to qualify for the Champions League rather than worrying about how a positive result would also help their north-west rivals.

When asked if United could boost Liverpool's title chances, Van Dijk replied: "They need to do themselves a favour. Everton is not easy to beat at home, but 4-0 is a big result.

In Pictures | Everton vs Man Utd | 21/04/2019

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"We have no influence on that, but they are still playing for Champions League football and they need to get a result."

As Liverpool target both domestic and Champions League glory, Van Dijk says it is vital for the Reds - who remain haunted by Steven Gerrard's infamous slip against Chelsea during their unsuccessful 2013-14 title challenge - to keep their cool as Spring temperatures soar.

"You try to keep a cool head and I think that's something we have improved on during the season," Van Dijk told the club's website.

"Just keep doing what we are doing, don't panic and we will get opportunities because we have plenty of quality in the team and no team can defend at their highest level for 90 minutes.

"So there will always be slight moments of spaces that we can exploit and I think we did it."

In Pictures | Cardiff vs Liverpool | 21/04/2019

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The centre-back added: "The only thing we can do is keep playing and keep winning. Keep enjoying it and hopefully the weather stays nice and let's go for it.

"We need everyone, we need all of the fans, and like today as well we had great support, so we will see how it ends."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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