Virgil van Dijk was on the score-sheet for Liverpool last night as it once again secured passage to the Carabao Cup final. And the captain has called on one of his teammates to be in the best possible shape for the run-in.

The next few months could see Liverpool compete for as many as four trophies, in what is shaping up to be an improbably successful debut season for Arne Slot. At the very least, the Reds have now made themselves serious contenders for the Premier League and the League Cup, while they made a statement by topping the league phase of the Champions League as well.

Quizzed by Troy Deeney after the win against Spurs, Van Dijk had little patience with talk of a quadruple — he has been here before, after all, and knows how hard it is to get things over the line in so many different competitions. However, he has highlighted one particularly important player as Liverpool moves into the business end of the campaign.

READ MORE: Gary Neville couldn't be more wrong again as 'mad' Liverpool prediction backfires

READ MORE: Cody Gakpo thanks Anfield crowd for following Arne Slot's instructions against Tottenham

"We did very well," Van Dijk told ITV. "I am proud of the boys and now we look forward to the FA Cup.

"Gakpo is doing very well. We need him in the best shape of his life but he is doing so well.

"Everyone has to contribute scoring goals. We will face a very intense Newcastle.

"When the time is right we will prepare well. I'm always proud to be leading out the boys, but these occasions are special... when the time is there, we will be ready."

It was Cody Gakpo who got the show on the road against Spurs, making the Liverpool domination count by guiding in Mohamed Salah's cross after it had writhed its way through to him. This was far from his first telling contribution of the competition.

In fact, Gakpo is the leading scorer in the Carabao Cup this season, with five goals. And barring a hat-trick for one of Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak or Anthony Gordon at Wembley (let's hope I'm not writing that into existence), nobody can even equal his tally anymore, never mind surpass it.

Inevitably, there have been some Takumi Minamino memes ("they killed the man, but not the idea"). The Japanese forward led the way in the League Cup and FA Cup when Liverpool completed the double under Jurgen Klopp.

But Van Dijk's call to have the very best version of Gakpo shows that Liverpool knows it can get even more than that from its current cup hero. The former PSV forward can do more than relieve the front line in the domestic cup fixtures; he can make telling contributions across every single competition.

He has already notched eight goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, more than any Manchester United player. Four of those have been directly "match-altering", in the sense that Liverpool went on to either draw the game or win it by a single-goal margin.

It's too reductive to say that Liverpool would therefore not be top of the table without Gakpo — had he not scored them, somebody else might have done. But it is certainly fair to say that the 25-year-old has been pulling his weight so far.

And his teammates know that he can still get even better. His League Cup contributions alone will secure him cult status if Liverpool goes on to win it, but Gakpo is gradually stepping up as a bona fide key player in Slot's side — and if he can keep it up, maybe Deeney's suggestion is not as outlandish as it sounds.