Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool aren’t getting carried away despite extending their unbeaten start to the new season with a 3-1 win over Manchester United.
The Reds moved back to the summit of the Premier League and 19 points ahead of their arch-rivals with a convincing victory at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
But, while Van Dijk acknowledged the ‘special’ nature of the result, he was keen to keep a level head over the club’s best ever start to a league campaign.
“We are in mid-December and the season is still too long,” he said.
“We are very happy we’re in the position that we’re in now but that can change in two or three weeks so we won’t get carried away and we’ll try to keep on doing what we’re doing. Obviously, stay confident.
“It [was] obviously very important to win today. You could say it was just another game but it was a bit special today because it was against them and it’s a long time since we beat them at home. Well deserved.”
In Pictures | Liverpool vs Man Utd | 16/12/2018
United were given hope of claiming a point late in the first half when Alisson Becker spilled a cross into the path of Jesse Lingard at the Kop end.
Van Dijk was spotted deep in conversation with his teammate after Xherdan Shaqiri’s double had later handed the hosts the win - and has now revealed what was said.
He continued: “I said to him, ‘We have no clean sheet because of you!’ No, I made a joke out of it. He’s been fantastic for us.
“It happens, everyone makes mistakes. It’s how we react and he did brilliantly in the second half. He didn’t get nervous.
“You see it a lot…maybe I didn’t react as well as maybe I could have. It happens sometimes. We had to all bounce back and we did.”
The Dutchman is now focused on Friday’s trip to in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers, who held second-placed Manchester City to a draw earlier this season.
He added: “It’s another game we want to win. It’s going to be very tough there.
“They are in a great moment but so are we so we will have to prepare well and know their strengths and their weaknesses as well.”
