Liverpool give Christmas Day off as Slot breaks tradition; Van Dijk says it's never happened at Liverpool before

Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, extending their unbeaten run to six matches as captain Virgil van Dijk confirmed the club will have Christmas Day off for the first time in his time at the club. Manager Arne Slot has broken with tradition during the festive period, with only one Premier League fixture scheduled on December 26 this season. The Reds next travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 27.

Following the win, van Dijk said: "We have Christmas Day off which is very nice of the staff. It's a nice change. I'll be at home on Christmas Eve too and I'm really looking forward to it." He added that the staff always have a precise plan for a game, and that it is special to be able to spend Christmas with family.

The squad held their own Christmas celebrations with a dinner on Saturday night, as they continued their strong form going into the holiday period. The head coach's decision to give the players a day off comes as Liverpool's six-match unbeaten run was extended. After the game, van Dijk revealed he spoke to Xavi Simons, a Netherlands teammate, after Simons saw red for a challenge on him; "Yeah I spoke to him," he said. "It's a chat that no-one needs to know. I don't think there was any intention to hurt me but obviously he hurt me and the referee and the VAR made the decision to send him off."

The win also kept Liverpool level on points with Chelsea, with van Dijk stressing that now is the time to push on and build momentum. "The aim is to try to win every game ahead of us. Unfortunately this season has had a lot of difficult moments in terms of results and performances as well. But all we can try to do is get better. We're at a club where we have a lot of opportunities to show what we can do. We focus on Christmas and being with the family, and then we focus on Wolves."