Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk will not agree to talk of a Premier League title race unless the team can go into March in an equally strong position.
A 4-2 win over Newcastle extended their lead at the top of the table to three points over Aston Villa but, more importantly, ensured they stayed out of reach of Manchester City, five points behind, with the match earring.
January is an important month for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they fight on three fronts, starting with a draw in the FA Cup third round at Arsenal at the weekend, followed by the first draw in a Cup semi-final Carabao to two home games against Fulham. .
Due to the mini winter break, there are actually only two more league games scheduled before February and that could help their main goal of adding to the Premier League title they won in 2019-20, as it reduces the impact of the absence of Mohamed Salah. that he scored two goals before heading to the African Cup of Nations with Egypt.
But Van Dijk said they were not looking that far ahead.
“I’m not going to talk about any of this, I never have and I won’t now either,” he said when asked about the title race.
“It’s too early to do that. It’s early January, we’ve got players leaving now, we’ve got players coming back from injury, so let’s see what’s in store for us.
“If in February/March we are still up there, obviously we have to give the last push and see if we can get it out, but for now we just concentrate on the game ahead, let’s not look at others and try to improve ourselves.
“That has always been the experience and it brought us success in the last six years: winning the Premier League and hopefully we will see what happens at the end of the season.”
The departure of Salah, who racked up 14 league goals and eight assists, will no doubt be felt, but it is Klopp’s job to reduce it.
At least they have Diogo Jota back after a month’s absence, while the return of midfielder Alexis Mac Allister after a six-match absence will make up for the loss of Wataru Endo in the Asian Cup.
“Obviously we are going to miss Mo and his qualities, also his leadership qualities. The situation is what it is and the same goes for Wataru,” Van Dijk added.
“Other players have to step up and stay fit and it was good to have Jota back, Macca back and everyone has to be ready for a big game at the weekend in the FA Cup and then the Carabao Cup and then hopefully , a little break again.” .
“I think December was already a very important month and, in my opinion, the way we dealt with it was very good.
“Now we are going to play three competitions, we have the opportunity to go to Wembley if we go to the Carabao Cup and the next round of the FA Cup, but the way we approach it is game by game.
“It could be a good month, but we’ll take it game by game and see.”
