Liverpool claimed a record ninth League Cup 11-10 on penalties after an entertaining EFL Cup final with Chelsea had ended in a stalemate.
The Blues brought Kepa on for Edouard Mendy as the game finished 0-0 after extra time but it was the reserve keeper who was first to blink when he blazed his kick over the bar to conclude a thrilling shoot-out.
It sees Jurgen Klopp win his first domestic cup as Reds manager as he becomes the first German coach to triumph in the competition.
Liverpool celebrate their first cup final win at Wembley under Jurgen Klopp 🏆 👏 pic.twitter.com/sMBt20QHGQ
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 27, 2022
Chelsea will rue missing some gilt-edged chances in normal time and could have been ahead on six minutes but Christian Pulisic saw his close-range effort brilliantly kept out by Liverpool’s young, cup keeper, Kelleher.
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The Merseysiders grew as the half wore on and almost capped their dominance on the half hour mark, but the excellent Mendy justified Thomas Tuchel’s initial decision to pick him ahead of Kepa with a stunning double save to deny Naby Keita and Sadio Mane.
Chelsea were mostly a threat on the counter attack with Mason Mount going close either side of half time with his second chance hitting the post.
Mohamed Salah then wasted a clear-cut opening for the Reds before Joel Matip had a header chalked off following a VAR intervention.
It started a run of disallowed goals as Kai Havertz (2) and substitute Romelu Lukaku saw a moment of joy snatched away by the sight of the offside flag as an action-packed affair somehow ended all square after 120 minutes.
The penalty shoot-out was just as engrossing as all 10 outfield players on each side converted their kicks. Kelleher then fired home his before Kepa missed to ensure the trophy will be returning to Anfield.
Talking Point
More final woe for Kepa as Liverpool make history with No.9. How this final finished 0-0 after 90 minutes, never mind 120 minutes, is a question that will puzzle anyone who witnessed it.
It lived up to the billing as a highly entertaining affair but was just missing the goals. They all arrived in a nerve-less shoot-out.
Sadly for Kepa, the League Cup final was once again a stage where he was the villain. Back in 2019 he refused to be substituted by then boss Maurizio Sarri and his team went on to lose on penalties to Mnachester City.
Here, he was unlucky not to get the nod to start having featured in Chelsea’s previous League Cup games.
However, given how well Mendy then performed it seemed strange that Tuchel made the late change for the spot kicks. It didn’t pay off and Kepa’s miss was decisive.
As for Liverpool, Klopp will be delighted to finally get that Wembley win. He had spoken ahead of the game about how this team needed to be remembered for winning more trophies and this was an important triumph.
They remain in the hunt for the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, and while an unprecedented quadruple will be a tall order, it could well be the spring board to more silverware come the conclusion of this campaign.
Eurosport