Salah lacks unlimited credit at Liverpool according to Van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk believes that Mohamed Salahs exclusion from the Liverpool squad for two games in a row highlights that no one at the club enjoys unlimited favour.

The Egyptian star remained an unused substitute during Sundays victory over West Ham and sat on the bench again for Wednesdays 1-1 draw against Sunderland at home.

This marked the first occasion in his Anfield tenure where he missed starting two consecutive league fixtures.

The attacker entered the pitch in the second half versus Sunderland yet failed to influence the game significantly and has now gone five matches without scoring.

Salah has netted only four times in the Premier League for the champions who are facing difficulties this term a sharp decline from his 29 goals the previous season.

Following the Sunderland result Liverpool skipper Van Dijk faced questions on whether leaving out Salah carried a signal to the team.

Thats how it has always been he responded. No one operates with unlimited credit all must deliver.

Mo has achieved that generally but the manager opted for those choices in the recent matches. Everyone aims for the clubs utmost success.

I am confident Mo remains vital to our ambitions as he is exceptional and has proven it time and again.

Van Dijk commended midfielder Florian Wirtz whose effort took a deflection off Sunderland defender Nordi Mukiele to secure a last minute equaliser for Liverpool now sitting eighth in the standings.

The German who transferred to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer window for £116 million $155 million appears to be adapting positively after an initial challenging period at Anfield.

A top club like ours invested in him for solid reasons said Van Dijk. In my view he stands out as a world class talent capable of further growth though it requires patience.

He needs to maintain composure. Avoid being swayed by external hype during highs or lows and steer clear of fixating on statistics.

These days scrutiny intensifies with goals assists or shutouts but true value lies in your vision and overall team input.