After the recent rough weather postponed the Merseyside derby, Premier League leaders Liverpool received an unexpected break in what’s set to be a demanding winter schedule.
However, while Chelsea begin to assert themselves as potentially a bigger threat to Arne Slot and his side’s current league lead than defending champions Manchester City or perennial contenders Arsenal, Virgil van Dijk is very much aware of the situation.
While discussing how he used the last-minute day off at the weekend during an interview, the Dutchman also happened to veer onto the topic of Enzo Mareca’s side who are now four points behind Liverpool, who now have a game in hand.
“We did not see it as a gift,” Van Dijk said as reported by the Liverpool Echo. “We wanted to play that game.
“I always want to play and get a good result but unfortunately the game did not happen and it was the right decision in terms of the safety for all of the fans.
“We will meet again and we have to be ready to face them.
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“I watched the last bit of Chelsea-Tottenham and had a nice afternoon with my family, which was much more important than any of the games.”
Chelsea came back from two goals down to sink their London rivals 4-3 in a thriller which solidified their stance as a participant of this season’s title race.
And Van Dijk says he and Liverpool are not caught off guard by this at all, despite the former champions’ recent rebuild leading to many expecting them to be settling for a jockey for European qualification positions.
“I don’t think [Chelsea] are under the radar,” said the centre-back. “Obviously with the squad they have and the players they have. The players that can come off the bench.
“Obviously we can talk about inexperience maybe but they have the quality, they have the players to make it difficult for any team and that is what they have been doing so they are definitely up there. I think they have shown it.”
It remains to be seen what happens regarding Van Dijk at Liverpool beyond the current campaign, with fellow living legends at the club Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah also set to be free agents in the summer of 2025.
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