Virgil van Dijk has claimed that Mohamed Salah helped Rio Ngumoha’s development with the teenage winger starring for Liverpool.Ngumoha turned in a brilliant performance in the Champions League on Tuesday as the Reds beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield.Ngumoha won the Man of the Match award for his displayGettyNgumoha started on the right and played 74 minutes as he tore Sergi Cardona apart, including for the third Liverpool goal.The 18-year-old charged down the wing, turned Cardona inside out and delivered it on a plate for Alexis Mac Allister.And speaking after the game, Reds captain Van Dijk revealed that Salah and others had helped Ngumoha reach this level he is currently at.In a post-match interview, Van Dijk said: “A few senior players [have helped him].“I would say Cody Gakpo is definitely part of that. But everyone has that role in order to help the youngsters in the group, the players who have not had so much experience.“Everyone is chipping in but for him to work with Mo last year was obviously massive as Mo was one of the best wingers at the club and experienced everything so why not soak in all the information and show it on the pitch and show your own qualities?“I think he has shown it this season but there is still much more to come.“He’s pretty electric at times and he showed it again. He was a complete threat constantly and their defender had a tough time.”Van Dijk also apologised after gifting the LaLiga side an opener.He attempted to head a ball back to Alisson, but it dropped perfectly for Georges Mikautadze, who swivelled and converted at The Kop.Van Dijk had a difficult evening personally but his sloppy play didn’t cost Liverpool a winGettyHe said: “It was a terrible start.“I think the saying is you fight an uphill battle and as a defender it is pretty difficult to come back from it. I tried but it was a bad day at the office personally but we did it together with 11 players. We turned it around and that’s the main thing.“Unfortunately, in life these things can sometimes happen. Fortunately it didn’t happen too many times in my Liverpool career but tonight I was not the best. But we won and it’s not about me, it’s all about us. We got the three points.”Salah’s mentorship roleSalah’s final season might not have been his best in a Liverpool shirt, with his numbers well down. However, he adopted a role looking after Ngumoha.And the winger revealed earlier this year what his final words were to him before Salah departed and ended up in Turkey with Trabzonspor.Speaking about Salah’s words, Ngumoha said: “The player who I probably learned the most from is Mohamed Salah, when he was at Liverpool.Salah saw Ngumoha as the man to take on his mantleGetty“He taught me a lot, especially towards the back end when he knew he was leaving. He helped me a lot.“Like he always says about looking at his numbers and he was always telling me: ‘Rio, you know you’re a good player but to reach the top, you have to add the goals and assists’.“And it will come naturally but he was just going through little things like that [with me]. When he first started [talking to me], it was like: ‘Wow! I’ve been watching you since I was young and you’re telling me how to [improve]. Like, you’re helping me and you’re guiding me.’“But then over time, I saw him as a very good teammate and he was helping me a lot, so I can thank him much more.”Ngumoha’s season so farDespite the arrivals of wingers Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz, Andoni Iraola has played Ngumoha a lot.The former Chelsea winger has featured in ever game, bar two this season in all competitions.Van Dijk knows good wingers when he sees them, and he is clearly excited about NgumohaGettyHe is yet to score a goal, but he has two assists and has appeared on the left and right for the Reds.And with Liverpool competing on four fronts, there will be plenty more opportunities for Ngumoha.