Anfield Needed Against Manchester United — Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has hailed the team’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at  Anfield as “something to build on” as the Reds continue their push for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Van Dijk opened the scoring in the 73rd minute with a powerful header, before Mohamed Salah sealed the victory with a second goal. The win was Liverpool’s fourth consecutive clean sheet in the Premier League and they have picked up 10 points in that sequence.

Speaking to Premier League Productions after the Anfield match, Virgil van Dijk said, “An important win, so it’s time to recover and focus on the next one. Of course [we had to be patient]. I think we see the games we played against them this season, they have been quite tough and today it wasn’t any different so we had to be patient and wait for the moment.”

Liverpool have struggled with injuries this season and have dropped points in games they would have expected to win, but the Dutch defender said the team is focused on fighting for every point. “Winning is the most important thing at this stage, especially in the situation we are. We try to fight each and every game and that’s what we did today and [it was] obviously a good performance and a well-deserved three points,” he said.

Liverpool’s next match is a home meeting with arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday, and Van Dijk is hoping for a big atmosphere at Anfield. “I think we need a big atmosphere on Sunday. I think today obviously it was quite nervous and hopefully on Sunday we can get everyone in their best – including us, because we obviously have to do the hard work on the pitch against an in-form Man United. So, we will recover now and we will be ready for Sunday of course,” he said.

Liverpool are currently in sixth place in the Premier League, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. They have 40 points from 24 matches and are five points behind second-placed Manchester United.