'Do you remember' - Micah Richards issues reminder to Virgil van Dijk critics after Liverpool win

Micah Richards has heaped praise on Virgil van Dijk for silencing his critics during Sunday's Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea.

Van Dijk came up will the all-important goal in the final moments of extra-time to win Liverpool a tenth League Cup trophy, having seen another headed effort ruled out earlier on in the game.

The Dutchman was imperious in equal measure at the other end of the pitch, thwarting the Chelsea attackers in their attempts to find a way through on goal throughout the 120 minutes.

This truly was a captain's performance in every sense of the word, from a player who came under massive scrunity during the Reds' below-par season last campaign. Speaking after Sunday's game in the Liverpool changing room, Van Dijk joked: "They thought I was finished!"

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Sunday proved the 32-year-old is far from being done as an elite-level defender, something that has not been lost on Richards. Speaking on The Rest Is Football Podcast, the ex-Manchester City right-back said: "What’s so good about Van Dijk is, do you remember last season when he was coming off the back of a really bad injury and a lot of people were saying his best days were behind him?

"I’ve had knee injuries and it takes a long time to recover. He admitted his standards dropped a little bit, but not at the level people were talking about. For a centre-half, it’s not just your blocks and reading of the game, it’s about how much you can command the people around you. When he’s got youngsters in front of him and there’s one bit in the game where’s just growling like a lion to get