Van Dijk tips Salah for explosive Liverpool finish after World Cup defeat, but fires Mane warning
Virgil van Dijk has tipped Mohamed Salah to channel his Egypt frustrations into driving Liverpool towards an unprecedented quadruple.
Salah has made himself one of the best players in the world with consistent form for the Reds. In fact, he leads the Premier League goalscoring charts and is on course to win a third Golden Boot.
He has already picked up a Carabao Cup winners’ medal this term following February’s triumph at Wembley. And, alongside Van Dijk and co., he is looking to add to his five Reds medals so far.
However, Salah‘s fate on the international stage has proved a different story. Egypt exited the 2018 World Cup at the group stages, before losing to South Africa in the last 16 at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
In February this year, Salah did not not get to take a penalty as Egypt lost to Senegal in the AFCON final. And he could not fare better when missing a spot-kick on Tuesday as Senegal beat Egypt again – this time for a place in the upcoming World Cup.
Speaking after the result, Van Dijk reminded Salah that he still has a lot to play for this season. The Netherlands defender also warned Senegal’s Sadio Mane if the Liverpool pair meet in Qatar.
“Well obviously, I feel sorry for Mo and for Egypt, but football is sometimes like this,” Van Dijk said after learning of the result.
“I am sure he will turn the disappointment into success for the rest of the season.
We still have everything to play for so there is a lot of things still to achieve for him.
“As for Sadio, I wish him all the best and if he is in our group, he is going to need that good luck!”
Van Dijk was also playing on Tuesday evening, as his country faced Germany in an international friendly.
The Netherlands international played 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw, ahead of his Nations League commitments in the summer.
Van Dijk, Salah, Mane can refocus
For now, though, all three players will refocus on delivering an unprecedented run of silverware for Liverpool.
The Reds’ last game before the international break was the FA Cup quarter-final win over Nottingham Forest. That set up a semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley.
A week before that tie, the two sides meet again in a top-of-the-table Premier League clash.
A win for either side will go a long way to deciding the title’s fate, with City currently ahead of Liverpool by a point.
Finally, Liverpool play Benfica in Champions League quarter-final ties in and around their meetings with City.
Salah, Van Dijk and Mane are all crucial players in Jurgen Klopp’s team and will have eyes on going all the way in each competition.
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