Updated
The Reds won their ninth League Cup once morest Chelsea following a full game and a session of 22 shots on goal (0-0, 11-10 on pens). Crazy.
Konaté, Robertson and Co are jubilant. Kepa Arrizabalaga has just missed the penalty which gives Liverpool the 2022 League Cup.
AFP
For once, Thomas Tuchel did everything wrong. After 120 mind-blowing minutes of intensity, the German Chelsea coach chose to release Edouard Mendy, arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, to replace him with Kepa Arrizabalaga and his “penalty killer” statistics. A daring choice – “à la van Gaal” – which would turn once morest the Londoners since the Basque watched the eleven opposing shots pierce him. And when it was his turn to strike, the 22nd shooter of an almost perfect session, Kepa sent his ball into the stands of Wembley. Jürgen Klopp and his Reds might be jubilant: they had just added a title that had been shunning the Anfield club since 2012.
But how did this final remain goalless for 120 minutes? A priori, one would be tempted to attribute this miracle to the (bad) luck and the prowess of two unexpected actors. First Liverpool substitute goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, whose point-blank reflexes saved the Reds at both ends of regulation time: on a rebound from Pulisic following just six minutes and his copy from the left signed Lukaku at the end of time additional.
The second decisive man was positioned in front of a screen: he is the video referee of this final. By choosing to dissect the free kick that led to Joël Matip’s goal, the latter alerted Mr. Stuart Atwell to the suspicious position and action of Virgil van Dijk – yet still far from the ball – before Mané’s decisive throw-in. Verdict: the Dutch defender was found guilty of a block made from an offside position. A justifiable decision but so dependent on careful use of the video tool that it will not fail to revive the debate regarding it.
If you add Edouard Mendy’s saves, the three canceled goals at Chelsea (Havertz 2x, Lukaku) for sometimes infinitesimal offsides and the post found by Mason Mount, you understand why this penalty shootout was a miracle before to turn into psychodrama.
All this, Jürgen Klopp and his players left to laugh regarding for at least a few days. They are indeed closing a month of February which will have seen them relaunch completely in the race for the title, lift a trophy and take a serious option on qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. At this rate, spring promises to be warm on the banks of the Mersey.
