"He's an absolute boss" - Gary Lineker lauds Liverpool superstar as the Reds defeat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final

Gary Lineker has praised Liverpool defender and captain Virgil van Dijk for his quality performance as the Reds beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Carabao Cup final.

It took extra time for the Merseysiders to find the winning goal at Wembley on Sunday (February 25), which can hardly be a surprise. When both teams have played each other in recent cup finals, the matches have gone to penalties. This match was headed for penalties as well until Virgil van Dijk powered a header in with the clock reading 118 minutes.

His goal has given the Reds their 10th win in the competition, an impressive record for the club. It wasn't the first time the superstar defender put the ball in the net though. There was a moment earlier in the game when Van Dijk thought he had scored from a freekick. However, that goal was disallowed by VAR due to an offside.

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker took to social media after Liverpool beat Chelsea, praising Virgil van Dijk with the words:

"He’s an absolute boss is Virgil van Dijk."

---

Jurgen Klopp praises "kids" who beat Chelsea and secure Carabao Cup for Liverpool

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hailed the Reds' performance after their Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea. He made out special praise for the youngsters who were on the pitch, keeping the Blues at bay as they secured the Cup against all odds.

Speaking after the game, the manager hailed his team, saying to the press (via Football365):

“What happened here tonight is absolutely insane. These things are not possible, what an academy full of character, it’s unbelievable what happened here. I’m so proud that I could be part of that, wow. We deserve it, we had lucky moments they had lucky moments and the boys showed up, it was really cool."

With a number of first-team players injured, Klopp had to bring on players like Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns, James McConnell, and Jarell Quansah. He spoke with admiration about their performance, adding:

“I’m pretty sure when we brought on all the kids people thought ‘OK that’s it now, they give up, they have a game on Wednesday’ but that was really not the case. We thought we need fresh legs and the fresh legs were fresh but very young.

"They did the job. It’s the environment we created, the boys trained for a pretty long time with us so they know exactly what they have to do."

With the Carabao Cup won, Liverpool could still win the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Europa League this season. For now, they will revel in their win over Chelsea.