Van Dijk: Title challenge the reason for Liverpool move

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool’s current position at the top of the Premier League is exactly why he joined the club.

Defender Van Dijk has been in sensational form for the Reds this term, helping Liverpool record a league-high 17 clean sheets, with Jurgen Klopp’s side conceding just 18 goals across the campaign.

Liverpool sit top of the Premier League with seven fixtures remaining, though they have played one game more than second-placed Manchester City, who will return to the summit if they beat Fulham on Saturday.

And with a Champions League quarter-final against Porto also on the horizon, Van Dijk insists Liverpool’s campaign is just what he had in mind when he left Southampton in January 2018.

“It’s definitely what I wanted,” Van Dijk told Premier League Productions.

“You hope to be in this kind of position – challenging for the Premier League title, being as far as we are in the Champions League now and reaching the final last season.

“I think the ultimate thing would be winning something with Liverpool and we still have any chance to win it. So let’s just go for it.

“The most important thing is to enjoy it. We have to give it our all and make sure we have no regrets at the end of it.”

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— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 29, 2019

Van Dijk has been credited as the main reason for Liverpool’s superb defensive displays, but he shrugged off the suggestion that he is solely responsible.

“In my position when things are going well it’s pretty easy to say that I’m sort of the guy that fixes everything,” he said.

“But if things are going bad then I’m the one that gets all the blame. In the end, we all do it together. If you look at the way we play, defend and attack, it starts up front. The amount of work they do is unbelievable.

“In the back as well, obviously Alisson has come in, but look at Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Robbo [Andy Robertson] has been outstanding. Dejan [Lovren], Joel [Matip] and obviously Joe [Gomez] before he got injured was amazing. I think everyone has played their part in it.

“It’s not about one player. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m feeling pretty good.”

Liverpool face Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.