Virgil van Dijk praised Liverpool's £248m duo of Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola and insists that after the departure of Mohamed Salah in the summer, it's time for others to step up at Anfield.

Isak and Barcola combined neatly for the Reds' second goal in Sunday's 2-0 win over Brighton, a result that leaves Andoni Iraola's side fourth in the Premier League.

Van Dijk told reporters: "It's coming to terms with the reality. What Mo (Salah) has done over so many years as a winger, I don't think anyone can replicate that. What he did was incredible. And the same with Sadio (Mane) and Bobby (Firmino) and we, as a team.

"Hopefully that will all happen again and that's why we work for each other every day. Now, it's the time for others and others have to step up.

"You can always think that it was better back in the days but that's not the mentality we should have at Liverpool and I don't think it's ever been like that at Liverpool. The club will always move on at a certain point. There's always players that will shine and perform for this club."

Like at Brentford last weekend, Barcola assisted Isak in Sunday's win and Van Dijk insisted that the challenge now is to carry on. Liverpool have won their last four games in all competitions and take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, before Arsenal travel to Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday.

"Moments like this will give confidence to those players and the team. We've all seen the quality they both possess. You want it to come out as much as possible and as soon as possible," he said.

"The second goal was class and there's been moments this season where they've been very very good but at a club like Liverpool, you have to do it every few days. That's always a challenge but it's a nice challenge to embrace and I'm pretty confident it will be fine."