Salah an important player for Liverpool – Van Dijk

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk reflected on Mohamed Salah’s goal that helped the Anfield outfit come out of the Merseyside derby with a 2-1 Premier League win on Sunday.

The Egyptian forward put the Reds ahead in their 248th meeting with Everton – the first to be played at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

 

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Beto equalised for the Blues during the second half but captain Van Dijk headed in a deciding goal 10 minutes into added time to grab all three points.

Salah is an outstanding teammate

“There will be a lot of words coming out of my mouth over the next couple of weeks on him,” Van Dijk told Liverpool website on Salah after the game.

“But listen, he is so important for us, on and off the pitch. I would say, the appreciation sometimes comes a little bit when players are gone, but we appreciate him so much.

“He is an outstanding teammate to have, obviously we have been through everything together; highs, lows. He will still be important for the last five games that we have to play and then it will be emotional for him and his family, for sure.

“But for us as well, because he meant a lot to me, a lot to the team and to the fans of course. But first, we have still a job to do and he knows it – that’s the main focus.”

Salah will leave Liverpool end of season

Speaking after the game, Salah said on scoring in his last Merseyside derby appearance: “It feels great, to be fair.

“The most important thing was to help the team to just settle down and keep more confidence, because we knew before the game it was going to be tricky, it was going to be a difficult game. I’m glad in the end we managed to win the game.”

Salah has already confirmed he will leave Liverpool at the end of the 2025-26 season after nine years at Anfield.

The 33-year-old Egyptian forward, who will depart as a free agent after mutually agreeing to end his contract early, cited a desire for a new chapter. He will leave as a club legend and top-three all-time scorer.