Virgil van Dijk cautions his Liverpool teammates that “the work isn’t finished” in the Premier League following their defeat in the Carabao Cup final.

Virgil van Dijk has issued a rallying cry to his Liverpool teammates, insisting that the Premier League title race is far from over, despite their recent setback in the Carabao Cup final. The Reds were defeated 2-1 by Newcastle United at Wembley, with goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak securing The Magpies their first major trophy since 1969. Federico Chiesa netted the solitary goal for Liverpool, but it was not enough to prevent a disappointing end to their cup campaign.

This defeat comes on the back of a challenging week for Liverpool, who were also eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain. While they remain strong favorites to clinch the Premier League title, having established a comfortable lead, Van Dijk is adamant that the job is not yet complete.

“We all have to realize the job is not done for what we have coming up,” the Dutch defender told The Guardian. “We have to work our a** off for it. Let’s hope that winning the Premier League would make up for a tough week, but we can’t think about it like that. We have to turn this around.”

Reflecting on the unpredictable nature of football, Van Dijk noted, “It’s how football works: in five days you lose twice and the world is sinking, sort of how you can say it, and two weeks before everything was sunshine and rainbows everywhere.”

Liverpool’s closest rivals, Arsenal, have narrowed the gap at the top of the table to 12 points following their 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday. Earlier in the season, Liverpool also faced disappointment in the FA Cup, having been knocked out by Plymouth Argyle, marking one of the few blemishes in what has otherwise been a sensational first season at Anfield for manager Arne Slot.

Despite the recent disappointments, Van Dijk believes his side has all the motivation they need to push through in the Premier League. “You play for the biggest prize that you work so hard for from the start of the season when no one expected us to be challenging for, first and foremost, the Premier League, one of the biggest prizes, and then on the side of that all the other trophies,” he added.

With nine games remaining in the league, Van Dijk is confident that his teammates will rise to the occasion. “The Champions League we couldn’t get it done, this we lost and the FA Cup, we got knocked out at Plymouth. We have nine games to go and I don’t think there’s any motivation needed to try to get the job done.”

As Liverpool look to bounce back from their recent disappointments, all eyes will be on their next league fixtures as they aim to secure the title and restore their season’s momentum.