Van Dijk speaks out and reveals secret of Salah and Klopp's downfall

Many big-name players are in training with their respective national teams for the World Cup in Qatar and in the build-up to the event Virgil van Dijk has been keen to take centre stage. Liverpool's Dutch centre-back captains a team that wants to be a candidate for gold, but at club level there are many problems that are evident in the English team, problems that have filled with criticism the figure of stalwarts such as Mohamed Salah and Jürgen Klopp.

Despite being living history at the Anfield club and having more than guaranteed their continuity in the project despite the difficulties the team is going through this season, the Reds are one of the disappointments of the season. Apart from having reached the last 16 of the Champions League as group runners-up and being, on paper, favourites to top the group, in the Premier League the English side find themselves in sixth position, or in other words, outside the European places.

More Liverpool news:

This is love for the shirt, what Sadio Mané would do to return to Liverpool

Klopp has had enough, here's what he had to say about Firmino's renewal

Liverpool have lost the ability to dominate games that they had shown during the Klopp era and Van Dijk has identified the reason for the team's slump: the toughness of the schedule.

The 31-year-old centre-back, as quoted by 90min, could not have been more blunt: "I would say the last few months have just been strange. Obviously, a big part of it is because of the big break coming up and the World Cup and players getting injured, players not being fully fit. It was strange, it was difficult for everybody.

"It's been strange."

So, the demanding schedule being faced by Europe's big clubs with several open competitions is conditioned by the presence of the World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off next Sunday and which becomes a major reason why many Liverpool players have not yet managed to find their most rewarding level.