ReactionVirgil van Dijk on Liverpool's Wembley return, Gakpo form and more
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is relishing the prospect of leading out the Reds at Wembley once again in the Carabao Cup final.
Arne Slot's side reached the competition's showpiece thanks to an impressive 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Thursday night.
Liverpool entered the second leg of the semi-final tie trailing 1-0 on aggregate, though a goal from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah's penalty and efforts from Dominik Szoboszlai and Van Dijk earned passage to Wembley.
As current holders, the No.4 is now set to skipper the Reds at the national stadium once more against Newcastle United on March 16.
"I will lead the boys in the best possible way," he told ITV post-match. "I'm always proud to be leading out the boys. These occasions are obviously special and we're really looking forward to it.
"When the time is there, we will be ready. It will be a difficult game, but any game that we play at the moment is difficult. We have to keep going and let's see what it brings."
Read on for the rest of the interview with Van Dijk…
On reaching Wembley…
It sounds very good. We're really looking forward to it. It was always going to be difficult today. But we did very well. I'm proud of the boys and now we focus on the FA Cup.
On whether Gakpo is in the best form of his career…
He's doing very well. I am proud of him. We need him in the best shape of his life. Hopefully he can become even better but he's doing so well, like the other boys. It's a big credit to him and the rest of the boys.
On Conor Bradley's assist for Szoboszlai…
Everyone has to contribute in scoring goals. I think the way we scored the goals today was important and it was nice. Now we go back to Wembley, where we face a very intense Newcastle. So, when the time is there, we'll prepare well - we're really looking forward to it.