Carabao to Kloppland
It was a ‘Red’ Letter Sunday evening when Liverpool squared up against Chelsea at the Wembley to compete for the Carabao Cup. The game turned out to be a perfect setting for the start of Jurgen Klopp’s farewell as he enters the final laps of his long stint as Manager of Liverpool. With a list of injured players, Klopp threw his boy band under the canvas of captain Virgil van Dijk, into a high pitched, high stakes battle. The young generation of players did not disappoint and the Carabao Cup was safely nestled for the 10th time in Kloppland aka Liverpool’s decorated closet.
A Great Chance for Chelsea
It was a great chance for Chelsea to redeem themselves and get their hands on some silverware this season. After 10 losses in 25 games in the English Premier League and stranded at 11th position, the Blues have been struggling with their inconsistent form. Without a doubt Chelsea had the upper hand atleast on paper, with Liverpool fielding an inexperienced side, including a young bench. Alisson Becker, Liverpool’s star goalkeeper, Mo Salah who had made a remarkable comeback against Brentford last week, Trent Alexander Arnold and Darwin Nunez not making the line up or the bench, Chelsea had a great chance.
A Brilliant Kelleher
Both the halves were well fought, with Chelsea creating more chances, but Liverpool’s stoic defence led by Van Dijk held Chelsea at bay. But I have to mention the performance of Caoimhin Kelleher, the Irish Footballer and Liverpool’s goalkeeper. He was simply brilliant and thwarted many an advance from Chelsea. He made 9 crucial saves and ensured a clean sheet. Jurgen Klopp must be indebted to young Kelleher for this phenomenal performance.
A Missing Gallagher
Chelsea missed and missed, hit the Wood work, and could not get anything into the goal (barring a VAR overturned effort from Raheem Sterling). Connor Gallagher, the Chelsea striker would be gutted for the several opportunities he fumbled with. Cole Palmer another young English football star and Raheem Sterling did well in patches but could not find the elusive goal. The defending too from Liverpool was tight and gave away nothing for most parts of the game.
Virgil scores : What a Player
Towering Virgil
Virgil van Dijk, once again proved his towering capabilities in the air and headed Liverpool home. Chelsea conceded a corner in the 118th minute ( the closing stages of the second half of extra time ) and van Dijk moving superbly, met the ball late to create the angle and headed one past the outstretched right hand of Petrovic, Chelsea’s goalkeeper, to bury the ball in the net. The strike was sheer skill. The Liverpool fans went up in rapturous applause as Wembley bore Red.
This Liverpool Team bouyed by youth, is tenacious at the back, has an enterprising mid-field, remarkable scoring abilities upfront and look extremely driven and hungry for success. Kudos to Klopp’s management.
With the Carabao Cup in the bag the focus shifts to FA Cup where Liverpool take on Southampton in Round 5 on Thursday, while in the all important English Premier League, its a ‘Dead Heat’… keep reading.
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Featured Image : An elated Jurgen Klopp/ pic courtesy Getty Images