Virgil van Dijk refused to get drawn into premature talk about a potential 'quadruple' – unlike Liverpool colleague Trent Alexander-Arnold last season.
Van Dijk, 33, was asked if he felt Arne Slot's side could win all four major trophies after the Merseysiders destroyed Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 go guarantee top spot at Christmas. And it's not the first time Liverpool have been tipped to make history in recent years, as they were touted to win all four honours in the 2019/20 and 2021/22 seasons, as well as last term.
While under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp, the Reds did win the Premier League, the FA Cup and two League Cups over the course of those seasons. But some fans were left at little underwhelmed due to the constant quadruple talk.
Last year, when the Reds were performing brilliantly in all domestic competitions and the Europa League, Alexander-Arnold tied his colours to the mast and said that he is, personally, aiming to win all four honours in Klopp's final campaign in charge. As admirable as his ambition was, his comments came back to haunt him – they did win the League Cup by beating Chelsea in the final, but their title challenge faltered in the final quarter.
Matters were made even worse when Manchester United and Atalanta knocked them out of the FA Cup and the Europa League respectively. And despite Liverpool currently topping the Premier League and the Champions League table as well as being in the semi-finals of the League Cup in Slot's impressive first season so far, experienced centre-half and skipper Van Dijk did not entertain proposals of a quadruple like Alexander-Arnold did.
When asked about a possible quadruple, Van Dijk hit Sky Sports with an 18-word statement that said: "I’m not getting dragged into any conversation about potentially winning a trophy, or two, or three or four."
He also said: "I think I’ve given answers already, many times, that we don’t think what’s out there in May. We want to be out there in May, but we’ve seen how difficult it is. Other teams can do it apart from obviously City. But we focus on what’s next ahead of us. That’s the only thing."
The Dutchman added: "It’s about being there in each and every game that is ahead of us. At the moment, there was Spurs today, a tough one, but it was a very good game. The next one is Leicester and that’s the only game we have an influence on as well.”
It was certainly a different tone to 26-year-old Alexander-Arnold, who told CNN in February: "I'm fully focused on winning every single trophy possible. My aim is to go and win the quadruple. It's only a couple of weeks before we want to get our arms on our first piece of silverware.
"Every game is almost like a final now because a certain other team [Manchester City] look like they are clicking into gear, which means it is going to go down to the wire as usual. It means every game is a must-win, simple as that.
"That's the way you want it. You want to get pushed, you want to push yourself as far and as hard as you can. Even a draw feels like a loss, no matter the context of it."
Liverpool's first chance at silverware this season comes in the form of the Carabao Cup, with the holders having drawn Spurs in the semi-finals, while Arsenal face Newcastle. In the FA Cup third round, meanwhile, the Reds welcome Accrington Stanley to Anfield on January 11.
But while everything is going well for the Reds on the pitch, fans are worried about the futures of Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah. The contracts of all three are set to expire in the summer and the trio will be free to negotiate pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs when the January transfer window opens.
Alexander-Arnold, in particular, has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid. Despite the uncertainty, the performances of all three have still been impressive.
Van Dijk has been imperious in the Reds' back-line, Alexander-Arnold has been creative and defensively strong and Salah is leading the goalscoring charts with 18 goals and 15 assists in 24 matches in all competitions for the Merseysiders.
Speaking after Sunday's 6-3 triumph, Van Dijk provided an update on his situation and revealed: “There is no deadline at all. We will see what the future brings. Is there an update? No.”