Tunnel Cam Footage Reveals What Virgil van Dijk Did Before Mo Salah Scored Against Newcastle

Virgil van Dijk was apparently so confident in the ability of Mohamed Salah during Liverpool's 2-0 win over Newcastle last weekend that he celebrated his goal before it had been scored.

The Egyptian scored his 32nd goal of the season, firing past Martin Dubravka having been set up by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

And Van Dijk was seen on the club's 'Tunnel Cam' with his hands aloft in anticipation as he awaited the finish.

It encapsulated the mood around Anfield when Salah, unerringly clinical this season, reaches the final third. There is a sense of inevitability, of expectation, when he is within shooting distance of the opposition goal.

Salah has excelled since joining Liverpool from Roma in the summer, his 24 league goals only matched by Spurs' Harry Kane.

And Steven Gerrard, now a youth coach at the club, has waxed lyrical about his performances.

LINDSEY PARNABY/GettyImages

"Chelsea brought him in as a youngster, as an inexperienced player and he was playing almost as a winger, out wide in these areas," he told BT Sport. "He almost had a job to create for other people, for other big names in the Chelsea team.

“He’s 30-40 yards away from goal and he plays safe, you can see he’s very young and he just wants to do the right thing for the team.

“I think as he’s moved to Liverpool with that confidence from Roma and working under a manager like Jurgen Klopp, he’s moved him closer to the goal, you see him here almost in the No 9 position.

“You see where his receiving positions are in this team compared to Chelsea, it’s a lot closer to the goal and it’s between the sticks. That’s where goals come from. It’s unbelievable to watch him, he’s a special, special talent.”