Virgil van Dijk says Mo Salah injury allowed Real Madrid to swamp Liverpool in Kiev

Virgil van Dijk discussed the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in May, saying Mohamed Salah’s unfortunate injury helped the Spaniards gain the upper hand in the contest.

It might be a bit of a sore spot for Liverpool fans, but Virgil van Dijk has been talking about the Reds 3-1 defeat in Kiev, saying that he feels things might have been different had Mohamed Salah not gone off injured after 30 minutes.

The Egyptian was in phenomenal form going into UEFA’s showpiece in Ukraine, scoring 44 goals in all competitions leading to that point. The game was billed as a battle between Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo while the aftermath was more about a clash between Liverpool’s star man and Sergio Ramos.

Van Dijk believes that with Salah off the pitch, Real Madrid felt safer going forward as Adam Lallana, on to replace the Egyptian, simply didn’t carry the same goalscoring threat as Salah did.

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“Mentally, something changed for Real Madrid once Salah left the pitch,” van Dijk told De Telegraaf.

“Suddenly Marcelo, Benzema and Ronaldo all ganged up against our young right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and left the whole right flank free.

“With Salah, they would not have dared.”

Liverpool have made a fantastic start to the 2018/19 Premier League season as they look to put the upset of losing the Champions League final behind them. The Reds are second in the league table, just two points behind leaders and holders Manchester City.

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Source: anfieldhq.com