Virgil van Dijk reveals the secret behind Liverpool’s incredible form that sees them top at Christmas – as he opens up on ‘special’ Mohamed Salah

Virgil van Dijk insists that he is not surprised at all by Liverpool’s performances this season with Arne Slot’s side four points clear at the top of the Premier League and with a game in hand.

Asked whether the players were surprised at their remarkable start to life under Slot after beating Tottenham 6-3, the Liverpool captain said: ‘No. We’ve only had one addition to the squad (Federico Chiesa). This group of players have played together for quite a long time. 

‘The experience and quality is there. I see it each and every single day. It’s obviously a surprise where it’s such a big change with Jurgen (Klopp) replaced by the new manager and there’d always be question marks but I still had trust in my team that we can compete at the top of the Premier League at least.’

Liverpool will be top on Christmas Day but Van Dijk stressed that they would not get carried away. Exactly half the time – in 16 seasons out of 32 – the team top of the Premier League at Christmas goes on to win the title.

‘We’ve been there. We’ve done it before. We’ve lost twice on small margins (to Man City),’ he said. ‘The key is to take it game by game. This (beating Spurs) was a big one. 

‘We won but now the focus is on Leicester and then the next one and the next one. Top of the league at Christmas is nice for us and all the Reds around the world but we want to be there in May as well.’

The Reds were expected to undergo a transitional season but they are storming the league

Van Dijk was asked about ‘special’ Mohamed Salah’s future as well as his own, with their contracts expiring 

Asked about the potential to do the Quadruple, with Liverpool still in all four competitions, Van Dijk added: ‘We don’t think about what’s out there in May. We want to be up there in May but we’ve seen how difficult it is.

On Mohamed Salah, who became Liverpool’s fourth-highest goalscorer ever with a brace on Sunday and the first Premier League player to reach double figures in goals and assists before Christmas, Van Dijk said: ‘The numbers speak for itself. He’s a very special athlete. 

‘He’s done amazingly for the club and hopefully this can be his best season ever for the club, staying important with his goals and assists and being clinical. We always need a complete performance from him because all the defensive work that he can put in is very important for us as a last line so he has to keep going and I think he will.’

Asked whether he thought Salah would give it all again next season with the Egyptian’s contract situation still up in the air, Van Dijk said ‘I don’t know.’

On his own future, with Van Dijk able to speak to foreign clubs over a free transfer from January 1, the Dutch international said: ‘There’s no deadline. We’ll see what the future holds. My focus is on Leicester right now.’