Virgil van Dijk hails 'well-deserved' Liverpool win to end Sunderland's unbeaten home run

Virgil van Dijk played a big part in Liverpool ending Sunderland's unbeaten run a home, and the defender is thrilled about the result.

Van Dijk scored the game's lone goal in a 1-0 victory for the Reds at the Stadium of Light, which has been a fortress for Sunderland this season. Heading into Wednesday's match, the Black Cats were the last team in the Premier League to not suffer a loss at their home ground, but Liverpool made sure that the streak ended after 12 matches.

The 34-year-old Liverpool captain was thrilled.

"A great win, hard work, on a very interesting, difficult pitch," Van Dijk told TNT Sports after the match. "[Now we] recover and go again on the weekend. It was quite a circumstance, but to come here and to play like we did today was a well-deserved three points.

"I think [Sunderland] showed this season how difficult it is to beat them and a lot of credit to them - it is a hard-working team. It is good to come here and for us to win and keep the clean sheet. A good match for us."

Ever the leader, Van Dijk was not going to take all the credit for the victory, and he paid tribute to his teammates for pulling off the much-needed victory.

"Ibo [Ibrahima Konaté] was outstanding, Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] in front," he said. "Everyone was putting a shift in. Proud of the guys as they worked so hard."

Wednesday's result allows sixth-place Liverpool to gain ground on Manchester United and Chelsea, who are fourth and fifth, respectively, and who drew in their respective matches on Tuesday. Getting Liverpool into the top four and back into the Champions League is a massive goal, Van Dijk said.

"We can't deny that it feels very big, but there are still 12 games to go," he explained. "So we have to keep improving and trying to find consistency.

"We have to try to stay fit and stay confident and keep improving."

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