Liverpool has won the Carabao Cup for the 10th time, extending its grip on that competition. Here are three moments we picked out that summed up the win over Chelsea.
WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON // Liverpool won the Carabao Cup at Wembley with a late Virgil van Dijk header. After the same player had seen one harshly ruled out earlier in the game, the Dutch captain stepped up again and delivered.
The Reds beat Chelsea on penalties in this game two years ago. Caoimhín Kelleher was one of the heroes on that occasion and he produced another top performance here, thwarting several shots that looked like certain goals. Alexis Mac Allister was magical in the middle for as long as he was on the field and Luis Díaz showed plenty of promise and heart down the left.
All in all, it was a remarkable achievement in the circumstances, as we will come to in further detail shortly. Liverpool fans in attendance (and those watching from home) will not forget this one in a while.
Here are the three moments Liverpool.com picked out from the Reds’ 1-0 victory over Chelsea. You can also relive the trophy lift with some things that you might not have spotted as Van Dijk and Klopp led the celebrations.
The Good
This was a performance that was right up there in terms of what Liverpool has produced under Klopp relative to the circumstances. With Jayden Danns and James McConnell finishing the game (not to mention Bobby Clark and Jarell Quansah), this was a showing of huge character and bravery.
Liverpool’s team was youthful but its performance at Wembley was one befitting of a side that has been together and experienced plenty of occasions like these before. The reality is that there should be a lot more to come based on this evidence. They simply refused to concede or be beaten.
It took until the last few minutes of the game for Liverpool to find a way in front and avoid the lottery of penalties, but Klopp’s side battled injuries, missing a couple of big chances, and could certainly ask questions of some interesting refereeing decisions before its eventual win. It showed a level of maturity that Liverpool simply should not have been capable of.
And yet, somehow, it was. The Reds will reap the benefits of such a day for years to come. Whoever takes over from Klopp will have quite the set of young talent — now with this extra layer of experience — to call upon.
The Bad
Chelsea really didn’t do a great deal well during the game, even if the Stamford Bridge side could easily have won with a few narrow margins going Liverpool’s way, including the Raheem Sterling goal that was disallowed. Nicolas Jackson was a millimeter away from being played onside by Ibrahima Konaté.
Considering that Mauricio Pochettino’s side was coming up against a Liverpool squad that resembled the walking wounded, it does not say much for the value of the $1bn-plus team that it is. While Chelsea has shown youth the door in favor of expensive and lavish signings, the reality is clear: Klopp’s method has worked a lot, lot better.
Trusting youth over flashy additions has paid dividends handsomely at Anfield. That is a huge legacy that the German coach will leave behind in a few months. The way that Danns performed when he was thrown in said everything you need to know: he looked a natural, even on the biggest stage. That is some testament to the Liverpool Academy and its coaching.
The Ugly
It was a strange move for Chris Kavanagh to keep his cards in his pocket for as long as he did. It took until Conor Bradley and Ben Chilwell squared up for the referee to book anyone — and he didn’t even give a free-kick for the foul on Ryan Gravenberch that saw him leave the field on a stretcher.
Liverpool now has 12 senior players missing through injury and those who weren’t injured are surely mentally and physically exhausted and spent after a 120 minutes of thrills and excitement. Luis Díaz, for example, looked absolutely shattered towards the end. The Colombian could barely walk, let alone run.
The spirits will no doubt have been lifted substantially by the celebrations and the europhia at the way the final was won. Southampton comes to Anfield midweek in the FA Cup but who plays in that remains to be seen. That, frankly, is a question for another day — though Klopp, no doubt, will turn to it sooner rather than later.
