NewsVirgil van Dijk: We only have to put all our energy in ourselves

The Reds restored their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Sunday with a battling 2-1 victory at Anfield against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Two tough tests on the road await this week as Arne Slot's men head to Aston Villa on Wednesday night before Sunday's visit to Manchester City.

And for Van Dijk and his teammates, it's simply a case of throwing all focus to the next challenge in their way.

The captain told reporters: "I don't know how others would think, I can only say what I think and what I tell the boys to do because I've been through this whole situation and come up short as well twice.

"The only thing you have to do is just focus on us. Let's try to win every game ahead of us and if we do that then obviously we have success.

"We have to put all our energy in only ourselves and that is hard enough already – you saw how Wolves made it difficult for us and on Wednesday it will be very difficult again.

"If you focus on other things or look at others, it is only going to backfire. So, we keep going.

"Certain players in our team might watch other teams but it is not going to help you. We have to keep winning, keep putting three points on the board, no matter what.

"I think that was also the mentality the season we won it [in 2019-20] – we kept going, kept going and we found a way."

He added: "I said it weeks ago, we just have to buckle up, enjoy the ride. There will be a lot of twists and turns.

"If you're not ready for it – and we have been there already – it will be a difficult couple of months for you but I feel like we, as a team, are ready for it.

"We will give it everything we've got and we will see in 13 games if that is enough.

"It is all about game by game and not looking at others as we have no influence on other teams or other situations."

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