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The fans may have spent the past few days luxuriating in Sunday's demolition of Manchester United, but for Liverpool's players it's been right back to work. Next opponents Cardiff may not look as tough a task on paper, but Liverpool approaching the match as though it's an automatic three points could easily see the Welsh side derail Liverpool's title challenge, and one only need look to Chelsea's stumble against Aston Villa last weekend for a cautionary tale of what can go wrong for a top side caught looking ahead.
"It was a big win but it was just another game for us really," was Jordan Henderson's businesslike take on Sunday's victory. "We went there trying to do the same thing, put on a good performance and get three points, and thankfully we did that so we can move on to the next performance and hopefully win that. We knew it was a massive game but we have been brilliant of late and we felt as though we were capable of doing what we have been doing all season and have a really good chance of winning the game."
A comprehensive 3-0 dismantling of United at Old Trafford could turn out to be a significant result for this Liverpool side when everything's said and done, but for the players, allowing themselves to get caught up in it being anything more than another three points while there are still games to play would only undermine their chances the rest of the way. Beating United so thoroughly might have been a special moment for many, but with the league in sight it's clear what the real prize is for this Liverpool squad—and that it isn't bragging rights.
"We dominated from start to finish and I am very pleased in that respect, but we just move on to this week against Cardiff," added the industrious midfielder. "That will be a difficult task as we are away from home so we need to prepare well for that. I am sure they will but we have just got to keep focused on what we are trying to do as a team and take each game as it comes and not get too carried away. That will start again against Cardiff and we will see where we are at the end of the season."
Beating United, as enjoyable as it was in the moment, was most important for the three points that came along with it, and in the final table, three points against United count the same as three against Cardiff or three against Sunderland or three against Tottenham. United was a big game, but with the title tantalisingly close, the last game can never be as big and important as the next one. And so it goes: United who? Bring on Cardiff City.
