Liverpool may have led the way domestically and in Europe for much of this season but captain Virgil van Dijk knows in the final reckoning only trophies matter.
This week’s Champions League last-16 exit to Paris St Germain on penalties – only a fifth defeat in 46 competitive games under Arne Slot – was a huge blow to a squad which has largely been leaving opponents trailing in their wake.
A 15-point lead in the Premier League means a second title in five years is within touching distance but Sunday’s defence of their Carabao Cup title against Newcastle is a game the Reds have to win or risk criticism over their season unravelling.
When they walk out at Wembley it will be exactly a year and a day since it all started to go wrong in Jurgen Klopp’s final season, with defeat in the FA Cup quarter-finals followed by exits from Europa League and the title race within in the space of a month.
A rare Premier League title in Slot’s first season would be a remarkable achievement in itself but Van Dijk knows the expectations are always set higher than that.
“It’s enjoyable, but at the end of the day, we all know how it works in the business,” he said, “You get judged at a club like Liverpool at what you win at the end of the road and we have to keep working.
“I think they (Newcastle) didn’t win a trophy for (70 years) so there’s a lot of motivation there. We obviously want to win so badly as well. We worked so hard to get where we are and obviously it’s the first season together with the new regime and we want to show that we can win trophies.
“You can’t control what anyone says. Someone told me people are saying that we’re only going just for the league. These things, you can’t stop it.
“It’s part of being a football player, having so many platforms nowadays that people can say whatever they want. You just have to shut down a little bit, focus on the task ahead as a team and try to win.”
In last year’s final against Chelsea, Van Dijk scored the winner two minutes from the end of extra time to lift his first trophy as captain.
If the rest of the season goes to plan he will add another two to his record to enter the annals of club history as a multiple-trophy winning captain.
“If you were to lift the two trophies you have a pretty good chance to be in a nice list of captains that have achieved great things in this club,” said the Dutchman.
“That’s obviously a big dream of mine, since I became the captain of the club.
“Obviously it’s a big gap that has to be filled when your captain (Jordan Henderson) and your vice-captain (James Milner) are leaving, especially with the characters they are and the successes that we created together.
“But that’s part of life as well. Others have to step up and the players that are still here – the senior guys – have stepped up, everyone has played their part in order to be successful.”
