Liverpool Are Crowned Champions Of The Carabao Cup Following Victory Over Chelsea.

Liverpool emerged as champions of the 2021/22 Carabao Cup final on Sunday evening following a thrilling encounter against Chelsea at the Wembley Stadium.

Chelsea's route to the final, had saw them come past Aston Villa and Southampton via the help of penalties before beating Brentford and then Tottenham in the competition's semi-final, while Liverpool cruised past Norwich and Preston before needing penalties themselves to overcome Leicester to allow them to overcome Arsenal in the semi-final round.

Both teams had several chances during the course of the game which led to extra-time  (120 minutes), before a penalty shoot-out was taken to decide the winner on the night.

Chelsea started the better side, with Mason Mount hitting the post and having another glorious chance go wide.

It was Jurgen Klopp's side who appeared to break the deadlock first in the 67th minute when Joel Matip headed in, but the goal was ruled out after VAR check for an offside from Virgil van Dijk in the build-up.

Shortly after, Kai Havertz headed in a goal in the 78th minute, but was disallowed for offside.

Romelu Lukaku went further ahead to score early on in the first-half of extra-time (98th minute), only to be ruled off for a tight minimal margin.

Havertz who had a goal cancelled before, then had another goal ruled out, again for offside in the 110th minute, making it the fourth time a goal would be ruled out on the day, three for Chelsea, one for Liverpool. 

Both teams upped the ante in search of a goal but all to no fruition, which led to a dramatic end as Edouard Mendy, who has had an outstanding game, is replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga in the final minute of extra-time with penalties in mind.

Mendy took the decision of Thomas Tuchel extremely well, applauding the fans and then hugs Kepa. Unlike Kepa who infamously refused to come off before a penalty shoot-out when Chelsea lost to Manchester City in the 2019 final under Maurizio Sarri.

Every outfield player (10) scored from the spot each, before 23-year-old goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher stepped up to score for Liverpool, and Kepa fired his own penalty over the bar. The man who was brought on to save penalties ended up missing the decisive kick after the first 21 were scored bringing the game to a frenetic end Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (10-11 pens).

The players all receive their medals, followed by an almighty roar, as captain Jordan Henderson lifts the Carabao Cup to the heavens!

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𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 pic.twitter.com/E3hG8n0YKV

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 27, 2022

 

It's Liverpool's ninth victory in this competition, which puts them one ahead of Manchester City as the club to have won the trophy most.

This became Klopp's fifth trophy at Liverpool, and his first Carabao Cup, as the Merseyside club won the title for the first time since 2012.

Jurgen Klopp's speaking after the victory said;"There has to be room for some sentiment in football [on the selection of Caiomhin Kelleher]. I am a professional football manager and also a human being, and today the human being won. It's nice that it paid off.

"I would have been fine with 90 minutes, 1-0 Liverpool and we go home, but I’m happy for everyone that there was such excitement. In dark and difficult times, it’s nice to celebrate something like this."

Meanwhile, Chelsea who recently emerged Club World Cup champions earlier this month, has now lost the final for a fourth time, just as they did in 2019.

Chelsea are joint third on the all-time winner’s list of League Cup with five titles alongside Man United and Aston Villa.

The London based club side claimed it’s the first title five years after the Competition was launched in 1960.

The last time Chelsea won the EFL League Cup was in 2015 when they defeated fellow London side Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to lift the trophy.

Thomas Tuchel's post-match thoughts

"No worries and no regrets. We gave everything and played a huge part in a brilliant game. The offside goal from Romelu is very close - I have just seen the line and I don't quite understand where the line is drawn, so maybe we have bad feelings about this one. Overall a draw was a fair result. We had chances, they had chances and either side could have won.

"We brought Kepa on for penalties before [against Villarreal in the Super Cup]. He is slightly better at penalty-saving and that's why we did it. Sometimes these things can turn against you, but we took the decision for a reason. I just said in the dreassing-room that I hope nobody loses any sleep because that's absolutely not necessary."