Virgil van Dijk thinks Liverpool can get even better
Liverpool host Wolves and Man City travel to Brighton on May 12; Both matches to be shown live on Sky Sports
Wednesday 8 May 2019 23:28, UK
Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool are close to rediscovering the fear factor that made the club such a dominant force for the best part of two decades.
Between 1973 and 1990, Liverpool claimed 11 league titles and four European Cups, each won in an eight-season spell.
That power has been gradually eroded but after the remarkable 4-3 aggregate win over Barcelona secured back-to-back Champions League finals, Van Dijk believes they are starting to re-establish their standing in the game.
"That's something we work towards," he said. "I feel that (Manchester) City already have that bit of status because they have been dominating last year so much.
"Hopefully we can keep going and make it very difficult for any team in the world.
"We have a great age group. Between 20 and 27, 28, so hopefully we can do it all together for the next couple of years at least and grow as a team and hopefully get a lot of success."
With a place in Madrid secured, Liverpool still have an outside chance of winning their first domestic title since 1990.
They need to beat Wolves - live on Sky Sports on Sunday - and hope Manchester City drop points at Brighton to pip their rivals in an extraordinarily tight title race.
"If it happens, it happens. We have no influence on that. They have it in their hands," Van Dijk added.
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"We're still in this season and still anything is possible. If it doesn't happen then it's not the end of the world. We've had a fantastic season, both of us. Man City have been outstanding as well.
"To compete with them says a lot about how we're progressing from last year. It's just the start. It's not like next year we're not going to try to do it again. It's something we have to build on.
"Hopefully ourselves are going to keep challenging for the title. Man City are one of the best teams in the world and they've shown it the whole season how difficult they can make it for any team in the world.
"The only thing we can do is try to win both: the Wolves game and the final.
"Deserve is not the right word. We have been outstanding this season and if something happens, everyone can be very proud and happy."
