“Statistics show that (he is making history) and we shouldn't forget he's playing as a winger, and that's also quite rare to score so many goals in that position.” the Dutch defender told Liverpool echo on Monday.
Van Dijk believes Salah's consistent performance and constant availability over the past six seasons at Anfield have gone under the radar.
Salah has netted 30 goals this season so far and became the first Liverpool player ever to score in nine home games in a row following his recent strike against Brentford on Saturday.
The 30-year-old forward has now scored 186 goals for Liverpool, tying him with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.
Van Dijk believes the work Salah puts in behind the scenes is largely unnoticed but key to his success.
“For him to be fit for 97% of the (Premier League and Champions League) games, that's maybe the most difficult thing along with staying consistent each and every game,” he said.
“People don't really speak about those kind of things too much, but maybe we should. On top of that, his numbers speak for themselves. In the world we live in nowadays, maybe the respect comes after he has stopped playing. But I don't think he cares about that anyway. He just wants to keep doing what he's doing and be important for the club. That's the main thing.” he added.
Van Dijk also defended Liverpool from criticism this season, saying it has been difficult for the team to handle at times. But with three games remaining, Liverpool still have a chance to qualify for the Champions League but to do that they will have to rely on him Salah's scoring instincts. The Reds number 11 has scored 13 goals in his last 17 games, keeping Liverpool's Champions League hopes alive.
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