Van Dijk insists Liverpool not getting carried away by ‘best in world’ tag | OneFootball

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk insists he and his team-mates are not getting carried away by talk of being the best team in the world, as they sit pretty at the top of the Champions League and Premier League table.

The Reds are six points clear of Arsenal domestically, and the 2-1 win over Lille saw them through to the last 16 and secure a top-two seeding.

Following the last-gasp win over Brentford, Thomas Frank labelled Liverpool as the best team in the world and placed them levels above Manchester City and Arsenal.

Van Dijk takes pleasure in the compliments as it affirms their performances but refuses to get carried away, citing nothing has been won yet.

“I think it’s sort of a confirmation that we’re on the right track,” the Dutchman said. “I think we work every day and every game so hard to be a very difficult team to beat. When other managers are giving you praise for the way you, not only attack, but defend as well as a group and the bodies that you get back behind the ball.

“I think that’s only a good sign and credit to all the hard work everyone has been putting in. So that’s the only thing I think we should take from it. And other than that, it’s just focusing on keeping doing it and staying consistent.”

This time last season under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds were in the hunt for all four competitions and had hopes of a quadruple in the German’s final campaign.

But the Carabao Cup win was the only silverware picked up, and van Dijk is well aware not to let complacency kick in.

“At this point, we didn’t achieve anything,” he added. “But listen, we’re in a very good place and I think it plays to all the teams that are playing in both competitions. Everyone is fighting for it.

“We have to stay calm and we will. If we have surprised ourselves, I don’t know, because I’ve known this squad for a couple of years, so there are not many changes.

“The biggest change is the manager and his staff, the way he wants us to play. I think we adapted to that pretty quickly, I don’t think there are major tweaks. I think the boys have been doing brilliantly. Hopefully, we keep that going until the end of the season and let’s see if we get the reward for that as well.”

Up next for Arne Slot’s side is a home clash with Ipswich Town as they look to tighten their grip on the Premier League title.