Virgil van Dijk has refuted any suggestion that Liverpool underestimated Manchester United after their eventful 2-2 draw at Anfield on Sunday.
Liverpool were seen as the strong favourites heading into the match at Anfield with many tipping them for a similar result to the 7-0 thrashing from two years ago.
The match was at risk of being called off heading into Sunday due to heavy snowfall in the region.
But a final decision was made at midday for the game to go ahead with work being done around the stadium to make it as safe as possible for fans getting into the stadium.
Virgil van Dijk insisted Liverpool did not underestimate Manchester United
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Any supporter expecting a one-sided affair was left bitterly disappointed though as United more than matched Liverpool in the first half.
United were particularly effective down their left flank with Diogo Dalot causing Alexander-Arnold all sorts of problems on the overlap.
Rasmus Hojlund missed a great chance to put the visitors ahead before the break, but Lisandro Martinez broke the deadlock for United shortly after the restart.
That appeared to kick Liverpool into gear and they were back level a few minutes later through Cody Gakpo.
And the hosts were in front after Matthijs de Ligt was penalised for a handball inside the box with Mohamed Salah stepping up to score his 21st goal of the season.
United didn’t let their head drops though as Amad Diallo popped up with an equaliser with 10 minutes remaining.
And the Red Devils should have stolen all three points with the last kick of the game, only for Harry Maguire to fire his effort over the crossbar.
The result was a far cry from many pre-match predictions, but Van Dijk insists Liverpool didn’t read too much into it.
“That’s all the media. Media talk. It’s nothing to do with us,” Van Dijk said.
“We prepared for a very tough game like we have seen today. We didn’t think any of that.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled against Manchester United
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He added: “It could have been a lot worse if we are absolutely honest with ourselves.
“They had a big chance in the end that could have been a lot worse than where we are now. I’m definitely disappointed with dropping points at home but it is what is and we have to move on and we will.
“We found the 2-1 and then it is about trying to manage the game and keep the ball for longer than three and four passes.
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Liverpool are six points clear at the top of the table
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“We lost the ball too easily at times and then we were more open than we should have been. We’re not perfect, we’re still learning and we have to learn from this as well.”
The result leaves Liverpool six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on their closest challengers Arsenal.
The draw also helps United move up one spot in the table to 13th, but they remain 12 points adrift of the top four.
Liverpool return to action on Wednesday for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham.