Virgil Van Dijk has jumped in defence of teammate Mohamaed Salah and hit out at those who continue to underrate him.
Van Dijk brushed off any doubt Salah was in a dip in form prior to his hat-trick against Leeds in their Premier League opener on Saturday.
The reigning champions squandered leads on three occasions before Salah slotted home an 88th minute penalty. It also turned out to be the winning goal.
The Egyptian opened the scoring from another penalty in the fourth minute. He got his second via a stunning strike in the 33rd minute.
Van Dijk also got himself on the score-sheet and was quick to dismiss any talk of Salah’s hat-trick being a ‘one-off’.
“Well that’s the media, you guys, doubting him. Obviously, we appreciate him and that’s the most important thing for him as well,” Van Dijk told beIN Sports post-match.
“We don’t see the negative parts of what the media says.”
Asides his goal on the day, the Dutchman also made a rare error at the back.
Van Dijk has now made more errors in the last four games than in his previous 154 appearances. However, he says it’s just part of the game.
“It was one of those situations that can happen. I tried my best, that’s what I did and unfortunately a goal came out of it but I don’t worry about it,”
Asked about the game itself, he added: “Eventful. Something that we obviously expected, the intensity at least. Nobody wants to concede goals and it was an intense game for both sides. A lot of running, 1v1s and counter-attacks.”
Van Dijk and Liverpool face a potentially difficult next outing against a new-look Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.
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