Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool were never concerned with unbeaten run following Watford loss

Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool were never aiming to go the entire Premier League season unbeaten following Saturday's shock defeat by Watford.

The Reds lost their first game of the top-flight campaign at Vicarage Road, going down 3-0 to Nigel Pearson's side.

That defeat ended their unbeaten run at 44 games, five short of the record set by Arsenal in 2004.

But Van Dijk insists Liverpool's only objective this season is to win trophies.

Jurgen Klopp's men remain 22 points clear of the chasing pack as the club targets its first championship since 1990.

"I think first of all credit to Watford - the chances they created they stick to their plan they scored three goals we didn’t create too many opportunities and we can’t take the credit away from Watford. We need to improve, it’s a tough one to take,” he told BBC Sport.

"If you conceded three goals we have to improve as a team and we will.

"Losing hurts, the records are only for the media we didn’t mention it once, we keep going. We want to win the next game in the FA Cup and then in the league against Bournemouth - I mean, that’s the only way forward.

"The whole season we haven’t lost a game like this. They did very, very well and we should have done better - we want to strike back straight away.

"Two throw-ins, we have to look at it, there is no reason for panic. We don't want to concede, we look at it but we don't have to panic.

"The record and the talk of the records is all media, we just try to win every game ahead of us.

"We will focus on the next game, the cup game, and we try to win there. We have to stay humble and work harder next game."

Liverpool return to action against Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).