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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk produced a leader's performance in the Reds' 1-0 win against Chelsea in the EFL Cup final on Sunday, February 25. The Dutch defender marshalled the shuffled starting XI excellently to keep the Reds at the top of the game for the majority of the match.
Van Dijk then came up with the all-important goal in the 118th minute of the game, guiding home a near-post header from a corner. He beat his marker Axel Disasi before outjumping Mykhailo Mudryk in the near post to expertly glance home the header past Dorde Petrovic.
As Liverpool celebrated their EFL Cup triumph, Van Dijk took to Instagram to share the happiness with the Reds' fans. He posted a photo of him holding the EFL Cup and the Man of the Match trophy with the caption:
"That's for you, Liverpool"
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham took to the comments section to applaud the Dutch defender by writing:
"What a player"
Other players like Andy Robertson, Jordan Henderson, Jeremie Frimpong, and Bobby Clark also commented on the post, praising the Liverpool captain.
Van Dijk had previously gotten a goal ruled out after an offside check by VAR. It was also a header from a set-piece.
Jurgen Klopp calls EFL Cup victory 'most special' trophy of his career
Jurgen Klopp has won the Bundesliga, the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup among other major honors in his managerial tenure with the Reds.
However, the German boss referred to this EFL Cup win as the most special trophy of his career. He fielded a largely changed Reds side, who not only won him the game, but also dominated the majority of the proceedings against an expensively assembled Chelsea side.
Klopp told Sky Sports after the match (via BBC):
"In my 20 years, this is easily the most special trophy. I couldn't care less about my legacy. I was not here to create one. This was so special."
He added:
"What happened here was absolutely insane, these things are not possible. The team, a squad, an academy full of character. I am so proud I could be part of that tonight. The craziest thing is, we deserved it. We had lucky moments, they had lucky moments. The boys showed up, it was really cool."
Liverpool had Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, and Diogo Jota out injured for the game.
