Virgil van Dijk sends 'special' Mohamed Salah message as Liverpool ace has Man City warning

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has hailed Mohamed Salah as being a "special" player after the Egyptian became the first in Europe this season to reach double figures for both goals and assists.

Salah set up Darwin Nunez's opener against Aston Villa before then netting the second that clinched the points for the Reds in the second half. Liverpool is now five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

"Special player," Van Dijk told reporters including from Liverpool.com. "Not only this year, but so many years now. You see the hard work that he puts in and how consistent he is, especially with his numbers but also with his performances.

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"He is a special player and a pleasure to play with. Physically, definitely [he can stay at this level for longer]. Mentally, that's in his hands. With certain players, you can see how they play on the highest level."

Liverpool has now won 15 out of the 17 competitive matches that Arne Slot has overseen since taking over from Jurgen Klopp in the summer. And Van Dijk is pleased with the progress that his side has shown to date.

"I think every win [feels significant], of course, but doing it before an international break and finishing off a difficult run of games with a good performance and a clean sheet is very pleasing," he said. "It builds a good foundation and hopefully after the international break, everyone comes back fit and healthy and we can kick on and keep going.

"The [Manchester City] result was announced in the stadium but listen, we are so early in the season. We've seen over the years, them putting on a crazy run of wins and being consistent and obviously now they have injuries and a bit of a difficult period, but it can turn quickly.

"We shouldn't focus on that at this stage of the season and I don't think we do. I don't. That's something we can control. Let's see what the next weeks will bring."

Liverpool was, of course, in the title race until April last year. And Van Dijk believes the experience of what happened then can help the Reds go one better this time around.

"We should have learned from last year and if you don't, it doesn't bring you any further," he explained. "What I have seen now, we are dealing with difficult moments pretty well.

"We've had a couple of games where we've bounced back from going down or conceding a goal or whatever. Towards the end of the season, maybe the pressure is higher, then everyone has to be there as well.

"For me, it is easy to say it but I want to go out there and enjoy it. We are very blessed and privileged to play for Liverpool and the players around you, there is so much quality.

"When you win games in the last minute, it is quite nice as well because it gives you a [boost]. You saw when we played Aston Villa a couple of seasons ago when Sadio [Mane] scored the goal. You see the feeling that it brings. But you want to control games very well and we did it [against Aston Villa]."