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A disappointed Virgil van Dijk made a point to go over to the Newcastle huddle as they were celebrating their Carabao Cup final victory, before grabbing Dan Burn and every single member of their squad to shake their hand.

Liverpool slumped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat in a difficult week that also saw them go out of the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain, but Van Dijk still took the time to credit the opposition.

He and Burn shared a very warm embrace after Van Dijk interrupted the Newcastle party, a strong show of mutual respect between the defenders as the Toon claimed their first trophy in over 70 years, before the Dutchman repeated the moment with every member of the opposing side.

Liverpool were second-best at Wembley to a physically dominant Newcastle, with Eddie Howe's outfit on top from the first whistle.

Burn gave them a lead in the second half as he met a deep corner with a header, marking the perfect week for the 32-year-old after his maiden England call-up.

Minutes after Alexander Isak had a goal disallowed for offside, he found the back of the net again with a clinical finish that sparked mass hysteria in the Newcastle end of Wembley.

Federico Chiesa got Liverpool on the scoreboard in stoppage time despite a lengthy VAR delay to check the substitute was onside, but Newcastle managed to get over the line and the celebrations could begin.

Van Dijk may well be into his final year at Liverpool and despite so much promise of success on multiple fronts, the Premier League now stands as the club's only hope of silverware this season.

Second-placed Arsenal are 12 points behind the Reds and lifting the title would undoubtedly see the campaign go down in history, though the past week will leave a sour note in Van Dijk's mouth.

But he was able to put aside those feelings in order to give Newcastle their dues on a momentous occasion for the Magpies, the mark of Van Dijk's strong character as captain of Liverpool.

Howe declared Liverpool's reaction to the result as "class" and commended them, having been in the same spot two years ago when Newcastle went down to Manchester United on the Wembley stage.


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