Virgil van Dijk leaves fans in stitches as he tricks Richarlison during battle with the Tottenham forward in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final clash

Virgil van Dijk left fans in stitches as he tricked Richarlison during Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Tottenham.

The two sides did battle on Thursday night for a spot at Wembley to take on Newcastle in the final of the competition, with Eddie Howe’s side laying in wait having knocked out Arsenal.

The Reds went into the game trailing 1-0 after Lucas Bergvall’s goal in the first leg, but goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah swung the tie in the favour of Liverpool in the second half.

One of the key battles of the game was between Virgil van Dijk and Richarlison, at least until the latter went off injured late on in the first half – Mathys Tel came on for his debut as his replacement.

Just minutes into the game, Richarlison hit the deck after an apparent inadvertent elbow from van Dijk, with a long VAR check ultimately adjudging that there was no violent conduct.

But a moment later in the game saw the Liverpool defender get the better of his rival in an off-the-ball moment that has been shared on social media.

More to follow.