Virgil Van Dijk has joked that Fabinho’s penalty in the Carabao Cup final was disrespectful.
The pair could be seen laughing together on the Liverpool FC YouTube channel’s “Inside Wembley” video (14mins 55secs).
Approaching the camera with a serious face, Van Dijk pushes his teammate aside.
“No respect,” he says indicating towards Fabinho.
“We chip, we chip now!”
The two players laugh together as scenes of celebration go on around them.
The mark of champions
Although it was clearly a joke, Van Dijk’s surprise at seeing his teammate chip a penalty on such a big occassion appears genuine.
He can’t have been the only one who was shocked to see the Brazilian dink his penalty with the pressure on.
It just goes to underline the confidence that Fabinho is currently playing with.
The impudence of the penalty is also the hallmark of someone playing in a team who know how good they are.
It’s hard to imagine any Liverpool player attempting such a penalty four or five years ago. But having won pretty much everything there is to win in club football, these Reds players aren’t fazed by anything.
Finally in front of fans
The Carabao Cup may have represented the “smallest” of the trophies available to Jurgen Klopp’s side this season.
But you wouldn’t have known it based on the celebrations.
This was the first trophy Liverpool had won since romping their way to the Premier League title in 2020.
As Covid restrictions denied them the chance to celebrate their achievement in front of fans, this felt like a long overdue party.
Although there will be no open-top bus parade for winning the trophy on Sunday, let’s hope The Reds bag one of the big prizes that they can parade through the streets of Liverpool come May.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
