Virgil van Dijk has again urged Liverpool fans to “buckle up” and enjoy the ride as he predicted more twists and turns in the Premier League title race.

But the Reds captain insists anyone worried about their ability to hold on to the lead should remember how they get the job done in the 2019-20 season. Arne Slot’s side moved back to seven points clear at the top of the table following a 2-1 win over Wolves on Sunday.

But the Merseysiders were forced to cling on late in the game after Matheus Cunha pulled one back for Wolves. It made for a nervous Anfield in the closing stages before the Reds reinstated their advantage over rivals Arsenal.

Now Slot’s men head to Aston Villa on Wednesday before a trip to Manchester City on Sunday in a huge week for their title ambitions with 13 games to go.

“I said it weeks ago, we just have to buckle up, enjoy the ride, “ said Van Dijk. “There will be a lot of twists and turns. If you’re not ready for it – and we have been there already – it will be a difficult couple of months for you but I feel like we as a team are ready for it and we will give it everything we’ve got and we will see in 13 games if that is enough. It is all about game-by-game and not looking at others as we have no influence on other teams or other situations.”

Liverpool can move 10 points clear of the Gunners night if they beat Villa. Despite having then played a game more, it would still be a big blow to Arsenal’s mindset.

Van Dijk is not bothered by that but he just wants the Reds to find ways to get over the line in games so they continue to rack up enough points.

He said: “‘We will keep going and hope the other team will slip up’. That is probably the mentality [for Arsenal] – but we are the other side of it and that’s the main focus for me. We have to keep winning, keep putting three points on the board, no matter what.

“Find a way and I think that was also the mentality the season we won it: kept going, kept going and we found a way.”

The Dutch defender doesn’t want his team-mates to be worrying about their rivals, either. He has been passing on his title race experience having won the trophy in 2019-20 but also come agonisingly close in 2018-19 and 2021-22.

He said: “Because I don’t know how others would think, I can only say what I think and what I tell the boys to do and what I think is good to do because I’ve been through this whole situation and been coming short as well twice.

“It is difficult to say; certain players in our team might watch other teams but it is not going to help you. The only thing you have to do is just focus on us, let’s try to win every game ahead of us and if we do that then obviously we have success.

“But we have to put all our energy in only ourselves and that is hard enough already – you saw how Wolves made it difficult for us in the second half and on Wednesday it will be very difficult again. If you focus on other things or look at others it is only going to backfire so we keep going.”

Van Dijk warned that tomorrow’s clash with Aston Villa is huge. And he is wary of January signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.

He added: “Wednesday will be very difficult, Villa Park one of the best atmospheres in the Premier League, they are in a very good situation with good players and new additions who can hurt you.”

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