Liverpool are history-makers because they are nerveless even in the most desperate of situations.
That is the view of Virgil van Dijk, the stand in skipper who led his side to a dramatic comeback victory over West Ham on Monday night that takes them to within four wins of the title.
The towering centre-half was the first to concede his team were far from their best as they trailed the relegation-haunted club deep into the second half.
But even then, Liverpool refused to panic, refused to believe they were beaten.
And Van Dijk reckons that is the real secret to the success of a team that now goes down in history as equalling two all-time records in 132 years of English top flight football.
The win not only means they hold the record alongside Manchester City for the longest consecutive winning run in history – with 18 – but they have also matched the longest consecutive home wins with 21, an all-time record set previously by Liverpool themselves in 1972.
And Van Dijk said: “What is the secret? Not being nervous, that is the main thing. It was a big blow to concede after a set-piece but we showed mentality, we showed strength and didn’t get nervous.
“This team keeps going and keeps playing and keeps pressing. There will be moments when the opponent is going to have problems if we keep doing the same thing and today showed us, good opportunities.
“They were a little bit better in the second half than the beginning, they played quite well but I think not being nervous is the main thing.”
The records keep piling up for Liverpool. They have now gone 44 games unbeaten, and are second in top-flight English football history behind the Arsenal Invincibles of 2003-04, who went 49 matches without defeat.
If Arsenal are the Invincibles, then the Reds are the Inevitables, because their title triumph is now guaranteed, given they have dropped two points all season, and require just 12 more from their final 33 to be crowned Champions.
Yet for all the plaudits surrounding their record-breaking, history-making run, Van Dijk says they will mean little until that Premier League trophy is lifted.
“Obviously we are in a good situation. Hopefully it means a lot at the end of the season and until then just try to work hard, stay grounded and take it game by game,” he said of the latest records.
He also admitted that the defence wasn’t up to its usual standards against West Ham, but added: “Yeah, well, you know. We can’t keep clean sheets every night. At the end of the day it is about getting the result.
“We all want the clean sheet, we all want eight goals, that is what every footballer wants but in reality sometimes you have difficult nights. Today we had a difficult night but we kept our cool and that is the main thing.”
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