Liverpool beat Chelsea by a single goal in the extra time at Wembley to win the EFL Cup in Jurgen Klopp’s final season at the club.
Virgil van Dijk’s header deep into extra time gave an under-strength Liverpool an astonishing win to ensure Klopp’s retirement tour started off in the perfect fashion. Dutchman Van Dijk rose to meet a corner in the 118th minute and nodded home in front of cheering Liverpool fans.
Both teams had goals ruled out by tight VAR calls during the normal time. Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling saw a close-range effort ruled out for offside against Nicolas Jackson. Van Dijk thought he had headed Liverpool in front on the hour only for the goal to be contentiously ruled out for offside against Wataru Endo for impeding Levi Colwill.
Liverpool’s 10th EFL Cup triumph was achieved without their biggest stars as Mo Salah, Trent Alexander Arnold, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota were all ruled out for the showpiece occasion. They lost Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch when he was taken off on a stretcher after Moises Caicedo’s first-half challenge.
The Reds were indebted to goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher who produced another outstanding Wembley performance after being the hero when Chelsea were beaten on penalties in the 2022 EFL Cup final.
Liverpool’s injury list meant teenagers who barely had a game between themselves this season had to come on and showed real belief to hold out Chelsea. 19-year-old duo Bobby Clark and James McConnell, along with 18-year-old Jayden Danns, showed maturity beyond their years to take Liverpool to the first silverware of the season.
As for Chelsea, they will be left with regret having failed to overcome a beleaguered and under-strength Liverpool side marshalled by Van Dijk. This means Mauricio Pochettino’s wait for a trophy in England goes on. This also meant Liverpool have now beaten Chelsea in three cup finals in the last two years.
‘Jurgen Klopp’s kids beat Chelsea’s billion-pound bottle-jobs’
Ocassions such as these are often ladened with narratives around the game. This time around it was Liverpool’s injury hit squad against Chelsea’s expensively assembled squad looking to prove themselves. A win at Wembley for Chelsea would have given its fans hope for the future as they look to build a team for the long term.
As the match drew to a close, Liverpool were left with only 2-3 players of their regular team with the Reds fielding mostly squad players as they saw out the win. This prompted a line from former Manchester United player Gary Neville in the commentary that will go down in English football folklore.
“Klopp’s kids against the blue billion-pound bottle-jobs,” remarked the former England full-back on Sky Sports.
The Reds’ average age at the final whistle was less than 22, with five players aged 20 or under and several hugely inexperienced. This win also prompted Klopp, who toppled Bayern in Bundesliga, won the Champions League and ended Liverpool league title drought, to say, “In my 20 years, this is easily the most special trophy.”
For now Chelsea will be left with the feeling of what could’ve been as they look to salvage a disappointing campaign. For Liverpool, they will hope this will be the first of quadruple they are chasing, as they look to given Klopp a perfect send off.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
