Virgil van Dijk’s goal in extra time won the Carabao Cup final for Liverpool against Chelsea after he had earlier seen a header disallowed for offside.
The 0-0 scoreline after 90 minutes failed to reflect the drama at Wembley as both sides had goals ruled out — Raheem Sterling for Chelsea and Van Dijk for Liverpool — and plenty of chances on top of that.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was furious in the first half as he lost another player to injury, with Ryan Gravenberch being taken off on a stretcher after a late challenge by Moises Caicedo that went unpunished by the referee.
Caoimhin Kelleher made some outstanding saves to deny Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher, while Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott hit the post with headers for Liverpool, before Van Dijk’s late goal — the 42nd attempt on goal of the match — decided the game as Liverpool won their first trophy in the final season of Klopp’s reign.
The Athletic’s James Pearce, Simon Johnson and Mark Carey analyse the key talking points, including a “technical offside”…
Van Dijk leads by example to lift his first trophy as Liverpool captain
It might sound like an overused phrase, but in the big games, you need your most experienced players to step up.
Van Dijk thought he had already put Liverpool 1-0 up after 60 minutes with a powerful header from a free kick. The “technical offside” ruled that one out — more on that later — but an extra-time glancing header ensured Liverpool’s man-of-the-match clinched the winner.
It was not difficult for Van Dijk to be Liverpool’s most experienced player — he was captaining the least experienced matchday squad Klopp has ever fielded in a cup final.
So many academy players needed to be helped through the game in the second half and extra time, but Van Dijk exuded his typical calmness and composure, which spread to his young team-mates.
Did Liverpool win the game when Virgil van Dijk has scored?
5 Jan 2018 vs Everton – ✅
21 Dec 2018 vs Wolves – ✅
27 Feb 2019 vs Watford – ✅
13 Mar 2019 vs Bayern Munich – ✅
17 Apr 2019 vs Porto – ✅
4 May 2019 vs Newcastle – ✅
9 Aug 2019 vs Norwich – ✅
30 Nov 2019 vs… pic.twitter.com/fgcu2GVxYJ— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) February 25, 2024
As a competition, the League Cup has regularly been scoffed at by some fans, but it represents an important landmark in Van Dijk’s career as he lifts his first trophy as Liverpool’s captain.
Mark Carey
Chelsea blew a golden opportunity for silverware
This was a wasted chance for Chelsea to win their first trophy under their owners.
Liverpool have become Chelsea’s nemesis in major finals in recent years — beating them on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup (2019), Carabao Cup final (2022) and FA Cup final (2022) — but, due to injuries, this was the weakest Liverpool team Chelsea have ever faced.
Yes, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been hampered by absences too, but this was a Klopp side rendered almost unrecognisable because there were so many youngsters filling in, particularly as substitutes.
Whoever was going to be on the losing side would wonder why they lost it, but Pochettino could call on players for whom the club have paid millions and they fluffed their lines.
Gallagher will have trouble forgetting a few of his chances, including the effort that came off the post. He was not the only guilty party, yet Chelsea were denied by a combination of poor finishing and good saves from Kelleher, Liverpool’s goalkeeper.
This will be a hard defeat to recover from mentally and physically and, to make matters worse, they face a refreshed Leeds United side on Wednesday night in the fifth round of the FA Cup, their last hope of winning silverware this season.
Simon Johnson
Kelleher’s string of superb saves
Liverpool stood firm last summer and again in January when clubs came calling for Kelleher.
A £15million ($19m at today’s rates) bid from Nottingham Forest was among the offers snubbed, with Klopp unwilling to weaken…
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