Virgil van Dijk has warned Liverpool's title rivals he and his teammates are 'not satisfied with just competing' following Sunday's 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United.
The Reds crushed their arch-rivals at Old Trafford, with Luis Diaz scoring a brace and Mohamed Salah finishing the job to punish some dreadful Man Utd mistakes.
Man Utd 0-3 Liverpool player ratings: Reds find the new 'Vieira' as Casemiro capitulates
Just three games into Arne Slot's reign, Liverpool are already joint top of the Premier League table with maximum points, while they've scored seven goals and are yet to concede.
Van Dijk sends warning to Liverpool title rivals
Van Dijk is, of course, a veteran of the Jurgen Klopp era and was a leading figure in their Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup successes under the German.
However, even with just one year left on his contract, Van Dijk isn't done yet.
In fact, he's sent out a war cry specifically to the top two over the last two seasons, Manchester City and Liverpool, that he and his teammates have their eyes on the prize.
"It's a proud moment. What pleased me the most was the performance from start to finish," Van Dijk told Sky Sports (via BBC Sport).
"We want to enjoy ourselves out there and the only way to do that is with the hard work we put in. We dominated and should have scored more. Winning 3-0 is a big improvement from last year.
"We had to stay focused and we did very well. I'm very proud of the boys.
"Joshua Zirkzee plays now as a striker for them but I know he likes to drop and receive the ball to his feet. We know they like to do this passing in behind but we nullified it quickly. Our game plan worked. We kept patient.
"What Jurgen Klopp said in one of his last interviews is the new manager inherited a very good squad. The manager left but the players didn't. We are not satisfied with just competing.
"We want to achieve greatness this season. I'm not competing in any competition just to compete, I want to win. We come up against a very good team in Man City and Arsenal. Our consistency is looking good, after the international break could be interesting when playing every three days. I'm certainly enjoying the ride."
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
