Virgil van Dijk: I've told Mohamed Salah I want him to stay

It was the Reds’ No.11, rather than their matchwinner Hugo Ekitike, who attracted the majority of the headlines after being introduced as a first-half substitute.

DON'T GO MO: Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk wants Mohamed Salah to stay at Anfield. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

Virgil van Dijk revealed he is desperate for Mohamed Salah to remain at Liverpool after the Egyptian came in from the cold to help his team to a 2-0 win over Brighton.

A goal in each half from Hugo Ekitike ensured the Reds followed up an impressive Champions League win at Inter Milan on Tuesday by boosting their Premier League top-four hopes.

But it was the Reds’ No.11, rather than their matchwinner, who attracted the majority of the headlines after being introduced as a first-half substitute.

Salah had been cast out of the squad for the midweek trip to Italy for casting doubt on his future in an explosive interview in which he declared his relationship with manager Arne Slot to be “broken” amid frustration over three games out of the starting XI.

However, he was called on just 26 minutes into his return from exile on Saturday as a result of an early injury to Joe Gomez before going on to assist the second goal.

And Van Dijk hopes that means his teammate’s stay can now extend beyond an upcoming stint at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt and the January transfer window, even if he could offer no guarantees.

Asked about his talks with Salah, the club captain said: ”Of course I've told him I want him to stay.

“Mo is going to the Africa Cup of Nations and we all hope he is going to be absolutely successful there and we all hope that he's coming back and being important for us for the rest of the season.

“But on the other side of it we all know football and we have no idea what's going to happen. I hope he stays because he's one of my leaders, he is very important and still - as you see today with another assist - important for the football club.

“But there's more parties in this situation.” Liverpool left little room for accusations that have been distracted by off-field events this week in confidently dispatching Inter and then impressing against Brighton.

They took just 46 seconds to take the lead in the latter game, Ekitike netting his first after collecting Joe Gomez’s header into the box and smashing home.

And the game-clinching second came on the hour mark, the same man rising highest to capitalise on some woeful marking to head home Salah’s corner at the back stick.

On the reaction to a tricky situation, Van Dijk added: “Did you see the performances? The reality of the situation is that it is bringing so much noise.

“Me as a captain I have to deal with how the boys react to it and I think the boys reacted perfectly fine.

“Mo reacted, in the end, perfectly fine as well. He was good today, he was good Sunday/Monday when we trained, he didn't travel and we trained yesterday together and he was perfectly fine too.

“It's all about how the team reacts and in my eyes and what I see and how I speak to the guys, I think everyone handled it perfectly well.” Having suffered nine defeats in 12 matches across a recent run that saw Slot’s position come under threat, Liverpool have now gone five unbeaten in all competitions.

And Van Dijk was full of praise for the manner in which his head coach has steadied the ship.

He said: “I think he's handled the situation very well. Calm, in his own way. It's a very tricky situation, there's a lot of noise and pressure from the outside world and rightly so because we have not been close to the standard that we showed last season.

“But we are all human beings and everyone reacts in a certain way and can deal with situations in a certain way.

“I think personally looking at it and the conversations we both had on a daily basis, I think he handled it very well. We just have to keep going.

“He's obviously at a club that is a very together club and that's how it's been before our time at the club and it's something we have to keep going. We go through the good times together as a team, as a club, as a fanbase, and sometimes when difficult moments arise we also have to stick together.

“I think this moment of time is a very good moment to see how everyone responds to that. I think the manager did perfectly so far.”

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson 6; Gomez 7 (Salah 26, 7), Konate 7, Van Dijk 7, Kerkez 7; Gravenberch 8, Jones 8; Szoboszlai 8 (Chiesa 83, 6), Mac Allister 7, Wirtz 8 (Robertson 78, 6); Ekitike 9 (Isak 78, 6).

Brighton (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen 5; Wieffer 6, Van Hecke 6, Dunk 6, Hinshelwood 5 (Welbeck 82, 6); Baleba 6 (Ayari 65), Gomez 6 (Milner 87, 6); Minteh 7, Gruda 6 (Mitoma 65, 7), Kadioglu 7; Rutter 7 (Kostoulas 82, 6).

Referee: Craig Pawson.