Mo Salah praised for his ability to deliver at crucial moments

Mohamed Salah has been hailed by both his manager and captain for his tendency to rise to the occasion for Liverpool.

Salah proved the difference for Liverpool, scoring a second-half brace as the Reds battled to a 2-0 Merseyside derby win in Saturday's early kick-off.

Having come to Liverpool's rescue once again to secure all three points at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp has reflected on just how much of an impact Salah, and his incredible goalscoring record, has had on Liverpool's quest for glory.

"Look, what I love most about Mo is… well, maybe mostly I love the numbers," Klopp said.

"But I think that Mo Salah played for us an incredible amount of fantastic games. Today was not his best game but then [still] being that clinical with the penalty and then staying in the situation, that's probably his biggest quality, and I love that.

"We need someone who can bring the ball over the line, and he was that again. I couldn't respect that fact more.

"It's absolutely outstanding, the numbers are crazy. He will never stop, that is his nature and that's really cool for us."

Similarly delighted for his teammate, Virgil van Dijk has insisted that Salah has put his penalty woes of recent times behind him, and is truly back to his game-winning best.

"Great players do [step up]," Van Dijk told TNT Sports.

"This season, or towards end of last season, he missed a couple of penalties, but to step up and deliver is something we need. We hope we can build on this now.

"Consistency is the most difficult thing in football, to do it each and every game is hard. Mykolenko did well but Salah stepped up. We're very pleased and very pleased for him."

After a turbulent year last campaign, Liverpool have found consistency this season, undergoing an evolution which Klopp has branded as 'Liverpool 2.0'.

And while Saturday's win took the Reds to the top of the table (albeit temporarily), Van Dijk has emphasised the importance of keeping up their winning form, using the disappointment of last season to drive them on.

"Everyone last year, at the end of the season, was drained - I'll be honest," the Liverpool skipper revealed.

"It was such a disappointing season because we didn't find consistency. We played one good game - against Manchester United here and then lost to Bournemouth in the next game. It was so frustrating.

"We had a short break in the summer and then we came back and everyone felt great. It went well and we sense a different vibe and energy in the club.

"Being top of the league means nothing yet. It is game by game by game. We have to enjoy the moment, playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world."