Virgil van Dijk Liverpool 2018-19Getty

Van Dijk: Liverpool not panicked by Man City and will definitely bounce back

Virgil van Dijk claims Liverpool will “definitely” bounce back from defeat at Manchester City, with there “no reason for panic” in an ongoing Premier League title bid.

The Reds suffered a first top-flight reversal of the season on Thursday as they went down 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Roberto Firmino had hauled them level with the reigning champions at one stage, but Leroy Sane added to Sergio Aguero’s opener as Pep Guardiola’s side collected a priceless victory.

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Liverpool’s lead at the summit has now been cut to four points, but Van Dijk insists nobody at Anfield is getting too disheartened about a rare setback.

The Dutch defender told Sky Sports: "We knew it was going to be a very tough season and there will be ups and downs and Thursday was obviously a down.

"You just have to keep going and bounce back and that is something we are definitely going to do.

"It was an intense game for both teams. They won and we are very disappointed but we will focus on recovering and making sure we are ready for the next game.

"We are disappointed we lost but there is no reason for panic. For us it was just another important Premier League game. Unfortunately we lost and couldn't get a result.

"Fair play to City and congratulations to them but we just have to keep going."

Jurgen Klopp’s side remain the frontrunners in a bid to end their long wait for domestic supremacy and can take plenty of positives from their performances so far.

They are even taking heart from the fact that they matched City for long periods in midweek before eventually coming unstuck.

Bumps in the road were to be expected over the course of gruelling campaign, despite bold predictions of emulating Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’, and the Reds now have the chance to prove that can recover from any stumbles they suffer.

Attention is about to be shifted to knockout football in an FA Cup third round meeting with Wolves on Monday, but Liverpool will be back in Premier League action away at Brighton on January 12.

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