Liverpool’s defence of their Premier League title has fallen flat this season and Virgil van Dijk has now confirmed that their focus has shifted away from the league itself this season.
Virgil van Dijk believes silverware could rescue Liverpool from what has been a ‘very difficult season’. The Reds have endured a miserable campaign in the Premier League, with the reigning champions sitting sixth and already 19 points behind leaders Arsenal.
But Liverpool could yet end the season with a tropy: Arne Slot’s side are still in the Champions League and have been drawn to face Turkish giants Galatasaray, while they sealed their spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals with a win vs Wolves on Friday.
Speaking about his side’s performance, captain Van Dijk added: “Very important. It was a very disappointing night [on Tuesday] and a very disappointing last 20 minutes of the game. We had to make something right here.
“The FA Cup is very important for us, as always but especially this season. Hopefully we can keep going.”
Asked what was different between Liverpool’s performance compared to their defeat at Molineux just a few days earlier, Van Dijk added: “Easy to say when you win. But I think the pace we kept playing. There was a lot of one v one moments at the side, Rio was outstanding and made life difficult for their right-wing back and centre-back at times.
“We kept pushing. The first goal changed the rest of the game , it opened up a little bit more and then to score the second and the third, game over.”
And with Liverpool now just one win away from a Wembley semi-final, Van Dijk has revealed that the Reds are now putting all of their effort into claiming a trophy between now and the end of the season.
He added: “To get silverware is always our aim. I’ve been very privileged to experience so many good nights winning silverware with this beautiful club.
“That’s what we aim for. This season has obviously been very difficult for a lot of reasons and I said it from day one that it was going to be a very difficult season.
“We’re here now, we made progress. But obviously now we are not doing well and we have to take that in our process. That’s what we did today, we played well, we won.
“Onto the next game in the Champions League and we’ll focus on a very difficult game where our ears will be tested as well but it’s nice. It’s an absolute blessing to be out there again and hopefully we get a good result.”