Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final on Sunday, with captain Virgil van Dijk scoring scoring deep into extra-time to secure the trophy.
Liverpool were without the likes of Alisson, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai due to injury, meaning Jurgen Klopp had to rely on seven academy graduates to help the team to victory.
Caoimhin Kelleher, Harvey Elliott and Conor Bradley were named in the starting XI, while inexperienced quadruple Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns, Jarell Quansah and James McConnell came off the bench as the match progressed.
Lewis Koumas and 16-year-old Trey Nyoni were unused substitutes.For a group of young players to win a major trophy is mightily impressive, especially when their opponent on the day was one of the most expensively assembled teams in history.
Chelsea have spent over £1 billion on new signings since Todd Boehly completed his takeover of the club less than two years ago, but they were unable to make their talent and experience count at Wembley.
Even after Klopp turned to the youngsters on the bench, his side still had the edge.
By the end of extra-time, Liverpool had an average age of 24.1 compared to Chelsea’s 22.6.
Neville’s Sky Sports colleague Jamie Carragher added to the delirium when he claimed that the result “shows that football isn’t all about money.”
The winning goal was scored by a centre-back who cost Liverpool £75 million in 2018, a world record fee for a defender at the time.
Liverpool have rightly been commended for their achievement, but the idea that ‘kids’ won is simply not true.
