Without throwing in the towel, Virgil van Dijk on Liverpool's title hopes

Following their 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Saturday, Liverpool became the first team in 24 attempts to not lose at the Etihad Stadium as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s late equalizer grabbed a big point which keeps them just one point behind the reigning Premier League champs and in the race for top spot after a third of the season.

After finishing fifth last season as they surged towards the finish line after an awful start and they’ve now lost just one of their last 24 Premier League games, are Liverpool back where they belong? Do they believe they will be fighting Manchester City all the way for the Premier League title this season?

Man City’s start to the season nine wins, two defeats and two draws from their first 13 games, suggests they won’t run away with the title this season. City playmaker Bernardo Silva, who was excellent in his deeper central role on Saturday, knew Liverpool would be back and he sees the title race being between four teams this season as City try and win four in a row.

They expected Liverpool to come back after a tough season for them last year. We knew their energy would be back so it is going to be tough, not just Liverpool but Arsenal, Tottenham as well, they are strong. But we are also ready to fight… We enjoy it more when we win. Of course it is nice for the Premier League and the fans and the competition that it is this tight, that there is this emotion. You have four teams that are very close to each other. We are going to try and do our best to get a little bit of distance because last season wasn’t that nice to be that far behind Arsenal. This season we want to try and keep closer to the top so when we get to February and March we are in the discussion again to win the Premier League.

New dimension and a secret weapon?

Van Dijk was asked in-depth about Alexander-Arnold’s role in this team as a hybrid right-back, central midfielder and if that tactical tweak is something which can give Liverpool a new dimension as they try to progress and evolve to get back into a title race with Manchester City.