We knew what we were going to face- Virgil Van Djik

The Dutch defender lead the Reds' defence in the win against Manchester United. 

Liverpool are cruising at the top of the Premier League with 45 points off the first 17 game weeks and leading the defending champions Manchester City with a point. They regained their top position after a scintillating win 3-1 against Manchester United, a win at home after almost five years.

Speaking to Liverpool FC, the Reds' centre-half Virgil Van Dijk said that he determined to stop the barren run at Anfield to make it a fortress this season.

“It was special,” the stand-in captain told Liverpoolfc.com.

“It was a long time ago that we won against them at home. We wanted to make it right and we wanted to show everyone that we’re doing pretty well. We had to be brave. We knew what we were going to face. They obviously have a lot of quality, especially up front, but we did well – we didn’t give them any chance to have clear options. It was a deserved win,” said the Dutchman.

The Reds broke the deadlock near the half-hour mark through a goal from Sadio Mane, his first against the Red Devils.

They score was tied just before the halftime and the Reds only took the lead with Xherdan Shaqiri's introduction in the game.

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“You can concede and it happened. The thing then was to bounce back and make sure we kept pushing, putting the pressure on them and being patient, that’s what we did and in the end, big Shaq came on and did the job for us," the Liverpool defender said.

“He is a fantastic player. He showed it since the first game against Manchester United in America [in pre-season]. He is something different and sometimes that’s a game-changer,” he added.

Liverpool are the only team to yet to lose a game in the Premier League. They face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the next game week to touch the halfway mark of the season.