Liverpool did their homework to be crowned champions of the English League Cup after beating Chelsea 1 – 0 with a goal in the 119th minute in extra time. The Dutchman Virgil van Dijk was the hero at Wembley with his goal and Luis Díaz was one of the most outstanding with his drive, which is why he took his prize.
After a goal disallowed by Van Dijk himself, an expulsion forgiven for Moisés Caicedo, two sticks, infinite chances and a Liverpool that had to resort to several teenagers due to the lack of players, Jürgen Klopp did it again and gave one more title, who He knows if the last one to his club.
With suspense, one minute before another penalty shootout, but deservedly, Liverpool once again lifts a trophy that they won two years ago against the same rival. Expecting goals was little more than a utopia, with the previous precedents, the 2022 League Cup and FA Cup finals, both ending in penalty shootouts after each 0-0.
It is true that these teams bear little resemblance to those of two years ago, in the case of Liverpool due to the infinite losses and in that of Chelsea due to the 1,000 million reconstruction carried out by Todd Boehly, but the feeling that it was not going to There were still many goals.
With Liverpool without a starting trident, with Cody Gakpo, Luis Díaz and Harvey Elliott and Chelsea, accustomed to not seeing a goal, the game was a carousel of emotions.
Dramatic, electrifying at times, chaotic in other parts of the game, this is how the grand final of the English League Cup was experienced between Liverpool and Chelsea, who in 90 minutes of play failed to break the zero on the scoreboard.
The inaccuracies in front of the goal prevailed, the goalkeepers of both sides were key and two goals disallowed by the VAR took center stage in a duel in which the Colombian Luis Díaz showed that he can withstand pressure and can take charge of the attack from a world-class team.
Luis Díaz had to put on the overalls to work for his team at the legendary Wembley stadium in London. The guajiro, who started in Jürgen Klopp’s team, had to command Liverpool’s attack after the absences of the Uruguayan Darwin Núñez, the Egyptian Mohamed Salah and the Portuguese Diogo Jota.
The Colombian started on fire, the first clear shot of the match came from his feet with a shot from his right foot, which made Serbian goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic work, who stretched out his hand to prevent his goal from falling.
Around the 24th minute of the first half, Klopp added another headache. Gravenverch injured his knee after a collision with the Ecuadorian Moisés Caicedo. The Dutchman left on a stretcher and Kavanagh neither reviewed the play on the VAR nor showed a yellow card. Klopp, with twelve players in the infirmary, burst out on the sideline, not believing what had just happened.
Chelsea gave the first warning in the 31st minute, Raheem Steling scored a goal after a fierce counterattack, but the score was invalidated after the offside found by the VAR of striker Nico Jackson, who was the one who put the center to the Englishman.
Gakpo had a header against the post, Elliott had a dangerous volley and van Dijk had a goal that no one protested. The Dutchman, from a lateral free kick taken by Andy Robertson, headed in the 0-1 scoreline, mirroring a goal he scored against Luton Town during the week. Dozens of flares were lit in the stands and it was assumed that the target was legal.
Until the VAR spotted a positional offside by Endo, which bothered Lewis Colwill to reach for the ball. After Kavanagh went to the monitor, he decided to overrule him.
More disbelief for Klopp, who had to deal with the VAR, the referee and a squad on its last legs. Given the lack of first team players, he had to resort to Clark and McConnell, 19, and Danns, 18, as substitutes. A 16-year-old was even waiting his turn on the bench.
Despite being an emergency Liverpool, with numbers 62, 47, 84, 42, 53, 76 and 78 on the field, Pochettino’s team did not wake up until that disallowed goal against Van Dijk. With the smell of flares in the air, Gallagher found the woodwork after a great play by Palmer, while Disasi missed, at the mercy of his quality as a defender and not as a forward, a ball alone at the far post.
With Liverpool suffering physical effort and the inevitable extra time around the corner, Conor Gallagher missed a one-on-one, a shot from inside the area in which he looked for the top corner and Nkunku, Palmer and Malo Gusto wasted a triple chance in the one that Kelleher used his reflexes to save Liverpool in stoppage time.
With a teenage Liverpool at Wembley, Chelsea was unable to take control of the match and led by a tireless Luis Díaz, the ‘Reds’ were superior in extra time, craving the reward of a goal that seems cursed in these confrontations.
Elliott, in a header at the far post, touched it with his fingertips, but the glory went to Van Dijk. The centre-back, in a corner one minute from time, appeared like a howitzer at the near post and headed, this time without opposition from the technology, the goal that he avoided penalties and gave Liverpool its tenth League Cup.
The ‘Reds’ are the most successful team in this competition, with two more trophies than Manchester City. Pochettino, however, remains without winning a title in England. The eternal 0-0 to which the finals between Liverpool and Chelsea seem to be doomed was broken by Virgil Van Dijk.
Second League Cup title for Colombian Luis Díaz with Liverpool and the fourth in his two years with the Reds. The victory will be a morale boost for the Merseyside team, which wants to close the cycle of coach Jürgen Klopp by winning the Europa League, the FA Cup, the Premier League and the English League Cup, and has already accomplished the first task.
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