This time, in the area where players occasionally have a post-match chat with the media, Mohamed Salah was not for stopping. “Two weeks in a row? No,” laughed Salah.

Fair enough. But as he happily breezed past, his captain – as he always does – was talking and wondering out loud if one of the club’s greatest-ever players would be stopping in a mixed zone in a Liverpool shirt again.

Arne Slot said normal relations had been restored and pointed out that other players had done a lap of Anfield to thank the supporters after Hugo Ekitike’s first and second half goals had given Liverpool a win over a very wasteful Brighton. But no other player appeared to have tears in his eyes.

No other player was quite so dramatic. No other player lingered as long as Salah did. And if you expected Virgil van Dijk to emphatically dispel any idea that Salah might have played his final game for Liverpool, you were mistaken.

Salah is now on Africa Cup of Nations duty for Egypt. His club skipper said: “I wish him all the best and… come back hopefully.”

Obviously, those three words show that Van Dijk is not completely sure. He certainly wants to line up alongside Salah again but knows it is not a given.

Van Dijk went on: “I have no control over that. He is one of the leaders. I would love to have him around because he is one of the leaders.

“Mo goes to the Africa Cup of Nations. We hope he will be successful there and all hope he comes back and is important for us for the rest of the season.

“But on the other side of it, we all know football and have no idea what will happen. I hope he stays, as he is one of my leaders, a very important player which you saw with another assist. He is still important for the football club but there are more parties to this situation.

“Of course, I’ve told him I want him to stay. The rest I’m not going to tell you. We will be in contact over the next days and weeks, we always are. And then let’s see.”

Any idea that some fans might voice their disapproval over Salah’s infamous interview at Elland Road was proven to be wrong as soon as he came onto the pitch as a 26th minute substitute for the injured Joe Gomez. But while Salah obviously has fan backing, Van Dijk believes Slot has dealt with the situation ‘perfectly’.

The skipper explained: “I think he (the manager) has handled the situation very well. Calm, in his own way. It is a very tricky situation.

“But looking at it, and in the conversations we’ve had on a daily basis, I think he’s handled it very well. When difficult moments arise, we have to stick together.

“This moment in time is a very good moment to see how everyone responds. And the manager did perfectly so far.”

And Van Dijk reckons the win against Inter Milan and this victory over Brighton – both with clean sheets – shows the Salah saga has not impacted his team-mates. “I speak to almost all the players,” said the Dutchman.

“If you feel that it could be a problem within the squad and it affects performances, you have a different story. But I think we showed this week we are absolutely united and we go forward as one.” But whether that one includes Salah remains to be seen.