Liverpool were on the winning side against Manchester City on Sunday, but captain Virgil van Dijk was still left frustrated after claiming referee Chris Kavanagh started the coin toss early.
Van Dijk and his team-mates were utterly dominant against Pep Guardiola’s City. Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah scored for the Reds, but they could have had more than two goals with better finishing.
The victory ensured Liverpool moved 11 points clear of the reigning champions, who end the weekend in ffith. Arne Slot’s league leaders are nine points clear of their closest challengers, with second-place Arsenal and third-place Chelsea level on points, goal difference and goals scored and only separated by alphabetical order.
Things didn’t start perfectly for the home side, with Van Dijk losing the toss. However, he suggested that was his only source of frustration after the win.
“I was annoyed by the fact that he started the toss without me even acknowledging it,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “I was obviously busy with my mascot, Isaac, and obviously took a little bit of time, but he started the coin toss already quite quickly. So I was a little bit annoyed by that.”
The Dutch defender was reluctant to get too carried away with the big gap to City, but admitted the Reds are in a strong position. “Obviously, everyone wants to be in a position where they, in this case, have 11 points in front of the opponent today. But there’s so many twists and turns,” he added,
“Now we have some injuries as well to our team, unfortunately, and we have to deal with that as well. And, you know, it’s game by game and stay calm. But games like this, when you win it like this, it’s always a good feeling. And now we’re back to recovery and be ready for a very tough run away.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot was similarly reluctant to get ahead of himself. The Dutchman has led his team to 34 points from a possible 39 since taking over from Jurgen Klopp, but there are still 25 games to play.
“It is a good position to be in,” Slot told BBC Radio 5 Live. “You guys know better than me that Arsenal and City are able to win every game from now till the end [of the season].
“Chelsea are able to win every game. It makes the Premier League so interesting – there’s so many good teams. Last season there was a big difference in points between Arsenal and City and they were still able to come back.”
Arsenal held a six-point lead over City after 15 games last term, only for Pep Guardiola’s team to claim the title on the final day of the campaign. Liverpool could have an even bigger margin over second place at the same stage this term if they win their next two games, at Newcastle on Wednesday and at Everton on Saturday lunchtime.