The Ian Doyle analysis after Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley
Endo banishes Caicedo regret
When Jurgen Klopp had last summer envisaged Moises Caicedo potentially making an impact on Liverpool’s season, this wasn’t what he had in mind.
Less than half-an-hour into this showpiece occasion, the Chelsea midfielder, stretching to make a tackle, momentarily slipped and planted a foot on the left ankle of Ryan Gravenberch, the Dutchman subsequently departing on a stretcher as Caicedo escaped unpunished.
And with Gravenberch gone and Dominik Szoboszlai unavailable, it was left to the remaining new midfield recruits to provide Liverpool’s engine room drive. And, as is proving increasingly the case, they didn’t disappoint.
Alexis Mac Allister, up against his fellow World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez in the engine room battle, carried on from his fine midweek showing against Luton Town with a superb performance, particularly during the first half when Liverpool constantly hounded Chelsea out of possession and on to the back foot.
His complete commitment was such that his race was run before the end of normal time, every ounce of energy left on the field.
And it was a similar tale for Wataru Endo, who is fast becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet. No Liverpool player made more tackles, only Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez completed more clearances, while his first-half block on Nicolas Jackson saved what appeared a certain goal. Any lingering Caicedo regrets from Liverpool have long since been banished.
Kelleher steps up again
No wonder Jurgen Klopp regards the League Cup as Caoimhin Kelleher’s competition. Two years ago, Kelleher was the hero when, after a handful of important saves during regulation time, he scored the decisive penalty in the League Cup final shoot-out triumph against Chelsea.
Mercifully, spot-kicks weren’t required this time. And it was another outstanding Kelleher performance that paved the way for the dramatic denouement that earned Liverpool another deserved triumph.
Having made a brilliant first-half stop to deny Cole Palmer from close range, the Irishman won the battle of wits in his one-on-one with Conor Gallagher – shades of the absent Alisson Becker – before, in injury time, making a double save when Chelsea appeared certain to score.
This was the first time Kelleher had started four consecutive games and, with Alisson out until April at the earliest, the 25-year-old now has the security of an extended run as a starter.
The Irishman has waited a long time for this opportunity. And if Liverpool are going to add to this League Cup triumph this season, Kelleher making the other competitions his own could well be pivotal.
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VAR hoo-ha no problem
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino raised a fair few eyebrows when, in the build-up to this final, he referenced his team’s Premier League defeat at Anfield last month when the Londoners could have been awarded two penalties.
“I want to be treated in a fair way,” said Pochettino. “When we played in Liverpool, I think not one key decision was given to us.”
That absolutely didn’t happen here, not least on the hour when Van Dijk’s opener was ruled out in controversial fashion following a VAR review when Endo was adjudged to have impeded Levi Colwill by standing still at the free-kick from an initial offside position.
Liverpool have been dogged by contentious officiating at key points this season. But it says much about the mentality and focus ingrained in this team that they weren’t distracted from the task in hand.
The next one arrives on Wednesday with an FA Cup fifth-round visit of Championship side Southampton. Quite who Klopp can turn to will depend on the impact of this exhaustingly-amazing latest triumph – but rarely can the club have felt so involved in earning silverware. This was a trophy for everyone at Liverpool.
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