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Mohamed Salah admits that adjusting without Virgil van Dijk was a difficult process for Liverpool due to how the team was structured to play with the central defender.
Van Dijk played in every Liverpool game for two consecutive seasons in the Premier League, making 100 appearances for the Reds in the process in all competitions before he was forced to undergo surgery for a knee injury recently.
Van Dijk is not expected to feature prominently this period due to the ACL problem he suffered following a shocking challenge from Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby with Everton on 17 October.
The £ 75 million man underwent a successful surgery in London earlier this month, but faces an arduous road to recovery before he is allowed to play one more role.
Despite the absence of the 2019 Ballon d’Or runner-up, the Reds have been in good shape, winning all five games since Van Dijk was injured.
Salah said it was difficult to adjust to the games without the most expensive player in club history, given the way the team is set up to defend with Dutch captain Van Dijk in the last four.
“The situation was difficult in the beginning,” Salah told beIN SPORTS. “Especially since he had played every game since he joined the team three years ago, and the defense plan is built around him.
“But at the same time, we had to deal with his absence. Thank goodness the young players showed confidence, as has been seen in recent games.
“Even when Fabinho fell back and got injured, the young players did well, with the help of the older players, who encouraged them and gave them confidence.”
After a jarring 7-2 loss to Aston Villa on October 4, the Reds collected seven points from nine to resume their place at the top of the Premier League ahead of this weekend’s round of matches.
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Liverpool can return to the top of the table with victory Sunday at Manchester City before another international hiatus begins.
And Salah explained how the Liverpool squad were able to keep their cool after the club’s toughest defeat in 57 years at Villa Park.
He added: “I think we were able to get back on our feet. After that loss, we drew once and won four or five more games.
“It was not easy, especially with Virgil’s injury, but thank God we were able to return to our normal position and win every game.
“In the end, we accept what happened.
“A loss is a loss, regardless of how many goals you concede, but it was difficult for us to lose 0-7 when we were the champions of England and the champions of the UEFA Champions League two years ago.
“When faced with a situation like this, you have two options: sit back and regret what happened or move on and generate a positive reaction. We take the second option.”
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