"Not what we all expected" - Virgil van Dijk reflects on Liverpool's 5-0 win over United

Ahead of tonight's Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield, Reds centre-back Virgil van Dijk has reflected on the previous top-flight fixture between the two clubs.

Jurgen Klopp's side defeated their biggest rivals 5-0 at Old Trafford back in October 2021. Winger Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick on the day.

However, despite Liverpool's dominant display against Manchester United earlier this season, Van Dijk has made it clear that none of his teammates expected to win so comfortably.

But, the Dutchman further implied that the Reds will have to be at their best if they are to defeat the Red Devils at Anfield tonight.

As quoted by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, Van Dijk told Sky Sports the following: “The games that we played over there were always going to be tough, but to come away with 5-0 quite easy and simple was not what we all expected before the game but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy it as much as we should.

“That game is out of the way. They made changes after that game so they're in a different mental state at the moment. They're trying to get top four, build towards next season a little bit and we're trying to focus on ourselves and doing everything possible to do it."

Anfield Watch Verdict

We also did not expect Liverpool to claim a 5-0 victory over Manchester United back in October 2021.

The reality is, the Red Devils still possess some quality players (Cristiano Ronaldo, David de Gea and Paul Pogba).

So, it was quite a shock to us when Liverpool battered Manchester United earlier this season. We aren't expecting Klopp's side to score five to nothing against the Red Devils this time round.

It is pretty rare to see a team win by such a big margin in any fixture.