Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool are not taking anything for granted after maintaining their push for an unprecedented quadruple by beating Tottenham to make the EFL Cup final.
Liverpool entered Thursday’s semi-final second leg needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit, but after Cody Gakpo opened the scoring in the first half, it was smooth sailing.
Mohamed Salah powered home a penalty early in the second half, then Dominik Szoboszlai and Van Dijk scored to put the tie beyond all doubt.
Liverpool are now into a record-extending 15th EFL Cup final, with Newcastle United lying in wait following their 4-0 aggregate triumph over Arsenal in the other last-four tie.
Arne Slot’s Reds also lead the Premier League table by six points with a game in hand and are among the favourites to win the Champions League and the FA Cup.
Van Dijk, however, is certain they will not let up.
“We needed a complete performance. At half-time I thought we could go a level up with more intensity,” the Reds captain told Sky Sports.
“But to win here like we did tonight is great for the team and the club. If you bring intensity to the game, anybody can make mistakes. It was a beautiful win today.
“Nights like this, where there’s a lot at stake, we didn’t take it for granted. We all wanted to go there [Wembley] again with the fans, and it was a great team performance.
“We are in February now, and we cannot complain about the situation we are in, but we should not take any of that for granted and not be easy on each other. I don’t see that happening.”
Since making his Liverpool debut in January 2018, Van Dijk has scored 26 goals in all competitions – more than any other Premier League defender.
Tottenham failed to record a single shot on target for the first time in any game under Ange Postecoglou, who was most disappointed with the manner of the defeat.
“It’s fair to say we didn’t get to the levels we needed to tonight. It was always going to be a big challenge for us,” he said in his post-match press conference.
“They’re obviously a very good side and in a great moment with all their players in very good form, very settled.
“But for us to give ourselves an opportunity, we had to be a lot more aggressive with and without the ball and we weren’t.
“We allowed them to control the game and dictate where it was played. In the end, they were too good for us.
“It’s disappointing. It was a great opportunity for us to get to a final. We didn’t give ourselves a chance to take the opportunity, which is probably more disappointing.”
Asked if Spurs’ lengthy injury list made it difficult to judge their results, Postecoglou added: “I don’t worry about being judged or who is judging.
“I think ultimately my responsibility is to try to get the players I have to perform to the best of their abilities and to tackle the problems we have got at the moment.”
