Liverpool did not turn up during their Carabao Cup final loss on Sunday as they were deservedly beaten by Newcastle United.

The Reds had been favourites heading into the game, but were overran by a Newcastle side desperate to get their hands on the trophy.

Whether it was a lack of desire, or simply fatigue from Liverpool, they have no reason to be happy with their performance at Wembley.

Not everyone was bad, with Virgil van Dijk and a couple of other Liverpool players at least showing some kind of fight to correct a lacklustre performance.

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Robbie Fowler claimed Van Dijk was the only Liverpool man to play well against Newcastle and many would agree that the captain was one of the Reds better performers.

Not former Newcastle boss Alan Pardew, though, who has claimed to have spotted a ‘worrying’ issue with Van Dijk.

Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

As things stand, Sunday’s poor performance at Wembley is set to be Van Dijk’s last visit to the iconic stadium with Liverpool.

With two months of the season left to play, the 33-year-old is currently heading towards becoming a free agent in the summer.

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As ever, Van Dijk was classy in defeat, earning praise for the way he conducted himself at the final whistle.

But speaking on TalkSPORT, Pardew claimed that the Dutchman’s contract situation now looks like it’s starting to affect his performances.

READ MORE: Arne Slot owes Federico Chiesa a big apology after Liverpool’s Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle

“Van Dijk is more than a great player I think, his personality, his leadership, it sets the tone for the team,” begins the former manager.

“But today, I didn’t think he was brilliant today.

“So, the players that are out of contract are beginning to lose a bit of form which is a little bit worrying, maybe they’re not quite right in their minds.”

The pain of cup final defeat is not new for Van Dijk and plenty within this Liverpool squad.

But that will not make it hurt any less.

FinalWin/LoseChampions League 2018LChampions League 2019WSuper Cup 2019WClub World Cup 2019WLeague Cup 2022WFA Cup 2022WChampions League 2022LLeague Cup 2024WLeague Cup 2025LVirgil van Dijk in cup finals for Liverpool

With the international break now arriving, the players will have more than two weeks to shake recent happenings at Anfield out of their system.

For Van Dijk, he may not be able to escape the club so easily, though.

Rousing The Kop understands that Liverpool are planning a renewed push to sign both the captain and Mohamed Salah up to new deals during the pause in play.

Van Dijk himself has admitted that he could run down his current deal before signing a new one in the summer.
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