Liverpool defeats Chelsea in dramatic Carabao Cup final, beginning Jürgen Klopp’s farewell tour in best possible fashion

Liverpool celebrated the beginning of the end of manager Jürgen Klopp’s time at the club in the best possible fashion, winning the Carabao Cup on Sunday after defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the dying moments of extra-time following a tense final at Wembley Stadium.

Liverpool celebrated the beginning of the end of manager Jürgen Klopp’s time at the club in the best possible fashion, winning the Carabao Cup on Sunday after defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the dying moments of extra-time following a tense final at Wembley Stadium. Every cup final is laced with tension, but with Liverpool seeking to send Klopp off with four trophies in his final season in charge and its starting lineup decimated by injury, the stakes for his club seemed higher than just winning a piece of silverware. And that tension ratcheted up as the missed chances for both teams piled up, including a disallowed goal apiece, culminating in Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher making several spectacular, scrambled saves as the clock ticked into the red to force extra-time. It was a goal from captain Virgil van Dijk, one of Liverpool’s most experienced players, that finally broke the 0-0 deadlock with just three minutes of extra-time remaining but the Reds’ victory was largely thanks to a host of young players, whom Van Dijk immediately paid tribute to after the game. “All the young boys on the pitch on extra-time. It’s incredible, I’m so proud of the team,” he told broadcaster Sky Sports. “It was a tense game for both teams, they had chances, we had chances, amazing, first trophy as a Liverpool captain.” It was a cagey start from both teams, weighed down by the tension of playing in a cup final. Liverpool seemed to settle fastest, drawing two free kicks in dangerous areas in the opening ten minutes that ultimately didn’t yield anything.