Expressive like few others, Jürgen Klopp took his iconic smile out for a walk when the referee blew the final whistle at Wembley. His Liverpool had just won the League Cup for the tenth time after beating Chelsea with a goal from Van Dijk with two minutes remaining in extra time (0-1). The German, who will leave the club at the end of the season, was the center of attention. He distributed hugs, reciprocated the dedicated fans and together with the center-back he raised the trophy, perhaps the last of his glorious stage at Anfield. He still has the Europa League, the FA Cup and, above all, the Premier, where he is the leader.
Liverpool, a priori favorite, faced the final with a host of casualties, many important ones such as Salah, Darwin, Szoboszlai and Arnold. But the injuries, which drew an eleven of circumstances, did not affect the essence of the Reds, always intense and with suffocating pressure. Weapons that were hell at the beginning for the blues. However, the first rushing arrivals only found the goal with a shot from Luis Díaz, undoubtedly the offensive beacon of those from Merseyside.
Liverpool's monologue ended when Kelleher went wide on Palmer's close-range shot. Chelsea gained weight and the reds trembled when Caicedo sent Gravenberch to the infirmary with a hard tackle. Klopp altered several positions and placed Gomez on the wing, who failed to block Sterling's shot into the net. But the VAR, by millimeters, declared Jackson's previous offside. Those from Anfield came out of their lethargy with a header against the post by Gakpo and with a clear shot from Bradley.
After the restart, Liverpool continued to persist and seemed to find the goal with a header from Van Dijk. The VAR, again, annulled the goal because Endo, in positional offside, blocked Colwill. The Dutchman's moment was about to come. The technology decision spurred Pochettino's men. Gallagher hit the post and with five minutes left the Englishman ran into Kelleher in a one-on-one match. The goalkeeper still made a double save, from Palmer and from Nkunku.
The final stretch was a magnificent chaos, with comings and goings, but no one avoided an extra time where Liverpool, despite having a young team on the field, had more personality. Petrovic prevented Elliott from being the hero, an honor that, this time, Van Dijk earned. The Red captain slipped past his marker going to the near post and hit a cross header. The center back was the protagonist until a few minutes later when Klopp appeared on the scene, architect of a great era that is approaching its end.
Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Colwill (Mudryk, m.89), Disasi, Chilwell (Chalobah, m.113); Caicedo, Fernandez, Gallagher (Madueke, m.97); Palmer, Sterling and Jackson.
Liverpool: Kelleher; Bradley (Clark, m.72), Conate (Quansah, m.106), Van Dijk, Robertson (Tsimakas, m.87); Mac Allister (McConnell, m.87), Endo, Gravenberch (Gomez, m.28), Elliott, Diaz and Gakpo (Danns, m.87).
Goles: 0-1. Van Dijk, m.118.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh admonished Chilwell (m.45 3) and Palmer (m.122) for Chelsea and Bradley (m.45 3), Mac Allister (m.80), Konaté (m.82), McConnell ( m.107) and Gomez (m.123) for Liverpool.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the final of the League Cup, called Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, played at Wembley Stadium (London) before 88,868 spectators.
