Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says Jurgen Klopp’s side is quickly becoming addicted to winning as The Reds race towards what would be the club’s 19th league title success.
Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool a 2-0 win over arch-rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, meaning The Reds have now taken 64 points from a possible 66 in the Premier League.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, Oxlade-Chamberlain said the team’s incredible form in 2019/20 has been fuelled by last season’s disappointment at losing out on the league title, despite having amassed a fantastic 97 points.
“Once you have proven to yourself and externally what you can achieve and the levels you can hit, that’s when the difference is.
“When you consistently hit them year after year, or as close to, is when you will be satisfied with yourself and others will be satisfied.
“When I look at last season, how it finished and we didn’t win the league with 97 points, you’ve also got to respect what Man City managed to do that year, the year after they won it with 100 points.
“To then go and get 98 points the next season takes a lot of mental strength and it takes that sort of desire to go again the next year and not be satisfied with what you’ve done. To keep churning out game after game the next year takes a lot of doing and you’ve got to respect that.
“We’re on a good track at the minute. Ninety-seven points and you’ve got that disappointment, that made us hungry for this year again. We’re going well at the minute. But it’s the same mentality of nothing is done yet, the job is not done.
“Winning trophies and winning matches is the same thing – once that’s what you’ve got your mindset on doing, you do it one week and you’ve got to keep doing it every week. That’s the sort of space we’re in.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain went on to echo Adam Lallana’s sentiments that having to win every single game is like an addiction for this group of players.
“As Adam [Lallana] said, it does become an addiction. It takes a lot of mental strength as well. We’ve got a good group of lads here and a great manager to keep pushing for that, so I don’t think that will be an issue. It does become something you’re hungry for.
“We’re definitely hungry but we’re nowhere near finished and we’re not at the target we need to get to. We’ve got to stay hungry and keep pushing, then hopefully we get the results that we’re after.”
Liverpool travel to Molineux for a tough encounter with Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves side on Thursday night. You can read our in-depth match preview here.
On Sunday, The Reds play away to Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup fourth round.
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