Mo Salah reveals the ‘funny thing’ Virgil van Dijk did in the dressing room before the Egyptian starred in Liverpool’s rout over West Ham

Mo Salah was again at center stage for Liverpool on Sunday evening as he scored once and provided a further two assists in Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of West Ham.

The Egyptian forward has barely been out of the headlines this season as the saga over his contract continues. Salah is out of contract at the end of the season and can start negotiations with non-English clubs from Wednesday on a free transfer once his contract expires.

But the 32-year-old was in a jubilant mood after Sunday’s match as he reflected that it was a much better visit to the London Stadium than when he last visited in April.

Salah clashed with his then manager Jurgen Klopp as he was about to come on after the 2-2 draw. Emotions were high as Liverpool’s title challenge fell further apart in the German boss’s final season at the club.

Liverpool’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League declined interview requests after the match, saying, “There will be a fire today if I speak.”

Klopp tried to play down the incident at the time, saying: ‘There’s no problem. We think it’s absolutely fine. It’s a non-story.’

But now Salah has broken his silence on the exchange and revealed his teammates made him the subject of it.

“It was funny because before the game the guys in the locker room were like, ‘Remember what happened last year?’ Salah told Sky Sports.

The Egyptian striker was in brilliant form at the London Stadium, scoring once and assisting a further two

It’s a far cry from last season’s match, when Salah clashed with then boss Jurgen Klopp

‘Virgil (van Dijk) started it. We laughed about it. It wasn’t a nice moment here last year, but I’m glad this was better.’

While Salah and Klopp remained tight-lipped, West Ham striker Michail Antonio admitted rumors were swirling.

“Actually – this is not inside information, no one has told me anything – but what I have heard is what the lads have been talking about on the training ground,” he told the Footballers’ Football Podcast in May.

“When the Liverpool players arrive, Klopp always gives them a big hug and says ‘good luck’, but when Mo arrived he walked in a different direction and put his shin pads on and things like that.

‘Klopp put his hand out to him and his hand stayed there for a while and when Mo stopped what he was doing he just hit his (Klopp’s) hand as a high five.

‘Klopp obviously didn’t like that and he said, ‘Do you want to sit back down?’, and actually said, ‘Do you want to continue?’. And no one told me what Mo said back.’

Liverpool’s 5-0 win extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as they look for a 20th English league title.

That is the same number of titles as their great rival Manchester United, who they receive in their next league match on Sunday.