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Liverpool celebrated the beginning of the end for the coach Jürgen Klopp’s He passed through the club in the best possible way, winning the Carabao Cup on Sunday after defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the final moments of extra time after a tense final at Wembley Stadium.
Every cup final is fraught with tension, but with Liverpool looking to see off Klopp with four trophies in his final season in charge and his starting line-up decimated by injuries, the stakes for his club seemed higher than simply winning a silver medal.
And that tension increased as missed opportunities piled up for both teams, including a disallowed goal each, culminating in Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher making several spectacular saves as the clock ticked into red to force extra time.
It was a goal from captain Virgil van Dijk, one of Liverpool’s most experienced players, that finally broke the 0-0 tie with just three minutes left in extra time, but the Reds’ victory was largely due to great number of young players, that Van Dijk immediately paid tribute to after the match.
“All the young people on the field in extra time. “It’s incredible, I’m very proud of the team,” he told broadcaster Sky Sports. “It was a tense game for both teams, they had opportunities, we had opportunities, incredible, first trophy as Liverpool captain.”
It was a cautious start by both teams, overwhelmed by the tension of playing in a cup final. Liverpool seemed to settle quicker, conceding two free kicks in dangerous areas in the first ten minutes that ultimately came to no avail.
Despite this, it was Chelsea who had the first chance to score, stopped only by Kelleher’s acrobatic goalkeeper, who pounced on Cole Palmer’s shot that sailed into the net, before Wataru Endo also cleared the rebound. .
According TNT SportsIt was the first of nine saves Kelleher made throughout the game to keep his team in touch.
An injury to Ryan Gravenberch following a challenge from Moisés Caicedo in the 25th minute made Liverpool’s chances even slimmer, forcing a furious Klopp to change his team’s formation once again while protesting to the referee.
Less than ten minutes later, Raheem Sterling found the back of the net for Chelsea after a great play involving Nicolas Jackson, but Jackson was deemed offside in the build-up and the goal was disallowed.
Then, with the score still 0-0 in the second half, Van Dijk appeared to have put Liverpool ahead, heading the ball in from a free kick, sparking wild celebrations on and off the pitch.
But his goal was also disallowed after the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled that Endo was offside and had prevented defender Levi Colwell from reaching Van Dijk.
The match became increasingly frenetic as the clock ticked toward 90 minutes, and both teams racked up a combined 31 shots on goal in regulation time, according to opt. However, somehow the score remained goalless.
In a bid to prevent Liverpool from tiring, Klopp brought in his young substitutes, including 18-year-old Jayden Danns, 19-year-old James McConnell and 19-year-old Bobby Clark, marking the most teenagers to appear for a single team in history. a Carabao Cup final since 2007. At the end of the match, five of the Liverpool players on the field were under 21 years of age.
Chelsea and Liverpool took another 12 shots in extra time, but only Van Dijk’s header from a Kostas Tsimikas corner scored the decisive goal.
He fell to the ground and was mobbed by his teammates as Klopp celebrated with staff on the touchlines and fans threw red flares onto the pitch, marking another trophy in Klopp’s time at Liverpool.
It was the first step in the Reds’ quest to win four trophies this season. They currently sit top of the English Premier League, face Sparta Prague in the Europa League round of 16 and have a fifth-round draw against Southampton in the FA Cup.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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