9 months ago
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Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
The Liverpool captain was full of praise for the role the academy players had in Sunday’s hard-fought League Cup final victory over Chelsea.
It appeared to everyone that Virgil van Dijk had won Liverpool the League Cup, the captain sending his header bulging into the goal in regulation and sending the fans into celebration only to see the goal dubiously ruled out.
Wataru Endo, it seemed, had blocked a defender while standing in an offside position. It wasn’t the defender marking Van Dijk, and Endo hadn’t moved to block, instead simply standing his ground. It wasn’t a call that’s normally ever made; the sort of passive interference that occurs on nearly every free kick.
In short, it seemed a situation where the officials and VAR headed in with the clear goal of finding an excuse to rule out a goal, and so found one.
While the fans seethed at the latest risible example of English officiating, Liverpool’s players got on with it and, in the end, Van Dijk just went and did it again. This time in the dying moments of extra time. Again on a corner. Again rising to beat his marker. And this time, the officials couldn’t find an excuse.
“First trophy as the Liverpool captain, it’s all for the fans so let’s enjoy it,” Van Dijk said following the win. “You should always savour the good moments and this is definitely one of them.
“We will never take these things for granted, we are very, very blessed and you see today as well that it could have been the other way, we could have lost. But we didn’t, we did the job, even with all the problems that we had before the game and during the game. I am so proud.”
After starting the match without the injured Alisson Becker, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nuñez, Diogo Jota, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcântara, Stefan Bajcetic, and Joël Matip, they ended it without Ryan Gravenberch—and concerns over Endo.
Because of those injuries, they also ended the night with six academy products on the pitch battling against Chelsea’s £1bn squad—and with a seventh, Conor Bradley, having started the night before being withdrawn having run himself ragged.
For many around the club—and for many fans as well—the role the club’s academy players had in the win was the most special part of the victory.
“I’m always proud to be part of this club, but I’m especially proud of the boys,” Van Dijk added. “They all played their part so it’s all credit to the team. We need everyone until the end of the season. But we are in everything so why not just go out and enjoy it? All of us, not only the players, staff, but especially the fans.
“It’s a beautiful time, and we have to not take these times for granted. We have to go for it and do it all together. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
