Newcastle tactic to nullify Virgil van Dijk revealed by Kieran Trippier in Micah Richards chat

After Newcastle United overcame Liverpool at Wembley Stadium, Kieran Trippier offered an insight into how the Magpies hurt the Reds throughout the contest

Kieran Trippier revealed Newcastle United specifically floated all of their set pieces to avoid Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk - and it worked perfectly. On a difficult day for Arne Slot's side at Wembley Stadium for the Carabao Cup final, the Magpies constantly terrorised the Reds with their set pieces.

Trippier consistently delivered high, out-swinging corners aimed at the penalty spot or back post during the Wembley clash, which were met by either Joelinton or Dan Burn. Just before half-time, this tactic bore fruit as Burn met Trippier's deep ball and sent a thumping header into the far corner.

The ex-Tottenham man's corners bypassed towering Liverpool duo Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, making them largely ineffective in these situations. Post-match, Trippier shared with Micah Richards the thought process behind the Magpies' set-piece strategy.

While on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards said: "A lot of people will talk about the goal but did people see the fade from Kieran Trippier. I spoke to him after the game and he said he did not put any in-swingers in, because Virgil van Dijk dominates those areas.

"He said he would go for the centre or the back post and lift it a little bit higher, because Dan Burn is taller than everyone. So if he could get a little bit of a run and the ball in was just amazing.

"When the ball is that high, lots of people talk about what the difference is between an in-swinger and an out-swinger, why do people put fade, bend or curl on it, whatever it may be. When the ball is that high, hit with a bit of swerve but it is flat, then you have to get more power in the header.

"When it is an in-swinger, you can sort of just glance it, but to get the power in the corner, seeing it live as well, I was thinking, 'you cannot possibly score from there' because there was no power on the ball. But to get his head back and get it in the corner was a joy to watch."

Newcastle nearly scored from a set piece moments before when Burn headed towards Bruno Guimaraes, who then sent it straight to Caoimhin Kelleher. In the second half, Alexander Isak's goal clinched the game for Newcastle, despite a late strike from Federico Chiesa causing a tense finale.

After the match, Slot admitted the Reds allowed Newcastle to hurt them with set pieces and long balls. in his post-match press conference, the Dutchman said: "This game went exactly the way they wanted it to be: a fight with a lot of duels and a lot of duels through the air.

"If we play 10 times a game of football through the air against them, they win it probably nine times because they are a stronger team through the air than us, which led to the first goal and the second goal because the second goal was also a header that they won at the second post that fell for Isak and led to the 2-0."

Specifically focusing on Burn's header, Slot added: "Normally a player like Dan Burn or another one runs to the zone. I think he’s an exception to that because I have never seen in my life a player from that far away heading a ball with so much force into the far corner.

"That is part of logic, that they either have to go far away from our zone, which 99 out of 100 times that will never lead to a goal, or they have to arrive in our zone and then it’s an equal battle, if you want to call it like this. So credit to him, I think he’s one of the few players that can score a goal from that distance with his head."