Virgil van Dijk believes winning the Champions League has been key to Liverpool’s success.
Jurgen Klopp’s side ended a seven-year silverware drought when they beat Tottenham Hotspur in last season’s showpiece to lift their sixth European Cup.
Since then, the Reds have not looked back with the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup also added to the trophy cabinet in recent months.
With a commanding 13-point lead at the Premier League’s summit, Anfield’s lengthy three-decade wait for domestic success looks set to finally end.
And Van Dijk pinpoints Liverpool’s triumph in Madrid, coupled with being tipped to the title by Manchester City, has served as a springboard.
He said: “I think the most important thing is [winning] the Champions League.
“That is something incredible and we all enjoyed that but we all enjoyed the ride we had in the Premier League last year. We came very close.
“Unfortunately City was just a little bit better but that spurred us on to try even harder this year.
“So we have been winning games, grinding games out and playing good football at times. We enjoy the hard work too so that is very good.
“The whole experience from last year, doing well in the league, only losing one time, winning the Champions League.
“The whole experience has been helping us so far in our journey this season and it should be helping us.
“We should be learning from what happened last year and I feel that is definitely what has been going on.
“And also the hard work we put in on the training ground, everyone wants to achieve great things with this team and we have the quality as well.”
Thursday’s visit of Sheffield United could see the champions-elect complete an impressive feat of going 12 months without tasting defeat in the league.
However Van Dijk is adamant that Liverpool will not be not thinking of such statistics when they anticipate the challenge from Chris Wilder’s newcomers.
“That is something we don’t think about,” insisted the defender.
“We want to bring the game and if that brings that kind of statistics, so be it.
“But it will be another tough game and they are a very good side too and they made it tough for us already over there and it will be tough for us here too.”