Gini Wijnaldum and Virgil van Dijk have delivered a timely reminder that the season is still young, insisting Liverpool will stay focused despite their lead.
The Reds’ 2-1 victory over Leicester on Saturday saw them move eight points ahead of Man City at the top of the Premier League, after eight games.
Two goals from Adama Traore, sealing a 2-0 win for Wolves at the Etihad, ensured it remained that saw as Pep Guardiola’s side suffered their second defeat of the campaign on Sunday.
Liverpool head into the October international break with a convincing gap between themselves and last season’s champions, who themselves have been in largely excellent form, scoring at least seven more than any other side.
Wijnaldum has joined the Netherlands squad for their upcoming clashes with Northern Ireland and Belarus, and speaking to Sky Sports, he took a sensible approach to the title race.
“We don’t want to think we are already champions. That would be a really wrong thing to do,” he said.
“I’m sure the manager will keep us with our feet on the ground and say that we just have to think about ourselves, and try to play good and try to give 100 percent every week.”
The midfielder stressed that the Reds need to “look at ourselves and not look too much to other teams,” and keep up their own form as “it can change quickly.”
Also speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk admitted he “didn’t expect” City to lose, particularly as the last time they failed to score was in May 2018.
But he followed Wijnaldum’s line of thinking, with the resolve to “focus on the games ahead of us” clearly shared by the dressing room at Anfield, instilled by Jurgen Klopp.
“We tried it last year and unfortunately Man City was just a little bit better,” Van Dijk reflected.
“So far we have been getting the points, there’s always room for improvement in our game and how I said before, we should just focus on the games ahead of us.
“Don’t look at any gaps or points difference between us and the others, us and City.”
This is certainly the right stance to take, as Liverpool have held similar leads over City in recent years only to see them close the gap later in the campaign.
But it cannot be ignored how strongly the Reds have started, and seemingly not having found their top gear yet, with the weeks to come—and the visit of City on November 10—a real barometer of their strength.
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