Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time header saw Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final to claim a 10th Carabao Cup title.
Van Dijk nodded in from Konstantinos Tsimikas’ 118th minute corner to snatch victory in extra-time within a nervy yet entertaining final, which marked a contrast to their meeting in the 2021-22 Carabao Cup Final which had been won by the Reds in sudden-death penalties.
In a scrappy opening 90 minutes, Raheem Sterling put Chelsea ahead in the 32nd minute but his goal was disallowed due to Nicolas Jackson’s offside position in the build-up.
Van Dijk saw a 60th minute header from a free-kick disallowed following a Video-Assistant Referee (VAR) check, which found that Wataru Endo had fouled Levi Colwill during the set-piece.
Speaking post-match to Sky Sports, Van Dijk was delighted with the club’s latest success as he commented: “Amazing, an amazing evening. We got the job done, I’m proud of the team.”
Despite both teams having a heavy injury crisis coming into the Final, Liverpool began on the front foot and almost claimed a ninth minute opening goal, as Andrew Robertson broke forward and delivered a cross but Djorde Petrovic saved Luis Diaz’s header.
Alexis Mac Allister and Diaz saw further shots denied by Petrovic five minutes later but Liverpool were given a huge scare in the 20th minute, although Caoimhin Kelleher crucially blocked Cole Palmer’s shot and Jackson’s follow-up as Chelsea broke on a quick attack.
Liverpool however were dealt another injury blow in the 23rd minute after Ryan Gavenberch was fouled by Moises Caicedo, who accidentally stamped on Gravnberch’s left ankle in the process which meant that the Dutch midfielder had to be stretchered off.
Jurgen Klopp consequently brought on Joe Gomez at right-back and pushed Conor Bradley into Gravenberch’s midfield role.
Chelsea again opened up Liverpool’s defence with a quick 32nd minute attack as Jackson teed up Raheem Sterling to lash in from close-range to put the Blues ahead, yet the goal was disallowed because Jackson was marginally offside in the build-up.
Neither team broke the deadlock before half-time but Liverpool entered the break on the front foot in terms of confidence, as Cody Gakpo put a 40th minute header onto the left-post then Bradley saw a 45th minute shot blocked from close-range.
Tensions meanwhile boiled over during the second minute of first-half injury-time after Bradley clattered heavily into Ben Chilwell, who didn’t take too kindly to the incident with a furious response which saw both players booked despite Bradley having walked away to avoid confrontation.
With memories of a goalless draw between these teams in the 2022 Final still fresh in the mind, Liverpool almost netted in the opening minute of the second half but Diaz’s shot was deflected behind and Gakpo subsquently rifled wide.
Chelsea though refused to show the nerves that had been transparent in the first half as Enzo Fernandez started a 52nd minute move up the left via Jackson, who found Palmer to return the ball to the Argentinean but Fernandez miscontrolled the ball which was quickly gathered by Kelleher.
Liverpool eventually found the breakthrough goal on the hour mark as Van Dijk headed in from Robertson’s free-kick, yet his goal was disallowed following a three-minute VAR check which found that Endo had blocked Levi Colwill from marking Van Dijk.
Gakpo wasted another great chance to put Klopp’s Reds on course for the first part of a potential quadruple, after he fired over the bar from Diaz’s 70th minute pass.
Conor Gallagher meanwhile hit the left post for Chelsea six minutes later then saw another shot blocked by Kelleher a further ten minutes later, which was quickly followed by a strike over the bar less than 50 seconds later.
In a final roll of the dice to avoid extra time, Klopp made a triple change in the 87th minute as Konstantinos Tsmikas and James McConnell were thrown on, alongside Jayden Danns who was making just his second senior appearance for the Reds.
Any nerves that this final – like in 2022 which too involved Liverpool and Chelsea – was destined for extra time were proven correct after six minutes of injury-time, in which Kelleher, Ibrahima and Gomez made crucial blocks to deny a wave of quick-fire shots and kept the score goalless.
Once extra-time got underway, Liverpool quickly seized control and almost took a 94th minute lead through Danns, with the 18 year-old heading just over the bar from Van Dijk’s headed pass despite Petrovic getting a light glance on the ball to tip it over the bar.
Petrovic then made a crucial 99th minute block as he softly punched Harvey Elliott’s shot behind after Elliott had met Diaz’s cross.
Chelsea however controlled much of the second half of extra time but failed to beat Kelleher who saved substitute, Noni Madueke’s shot, although Petrovic luckily blocked Elliott’s 115th minute header to seemingly destine the final for the fearful penalty shootout.
Liverpool however settled nerves and broke Chelsea’s hearts in the 118th minute as Fernandez conceded a corner, from which Van Dijk bullet-headed Tsimikas’ corner-kick into the bottom-left corner to secure Liverpool’s 10th title in this competition.
The result also meant that Klopp’s Reds became the first team to claim 10 titles in this very competition (formerly known as the EFL Cup), which began in 1960-61 season with the first final won by Aston Villa following 3-2 aggregate win over Rotherham across two legs in the old format.
Unlike other title successes under Klopp, this victory also holds greater significance because it could be their final title under the German – who last month announced he will leave at the end of this season, although they are still in the mix for FA Cup, Premier League and Europa League titles.
What’s Next?
Chelsea and Liverpool will both be straight back in cup action on Wednesday 28 February, as both teams face Championship opposition in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.
Pochettino’s Blues will host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge in a 7:30pm GMT kick-off, whilst Liverpool entertain Southampton at Anfield from 8pm that same evening.
Teams
Chelsea: Djorde Petrovic, Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Levi Colwill, Ben Chilwell (Chalobah 113′), Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher (Madueke 97′), Raheem Sterling (Nkunku 67′), Nicolas Jackson (Mudryk 90′)
Substitutes: Roberto Sanchez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Marcus Bettinelli, Trevoh Chalobah, Christopher Nkunku, Alfie Gilchrist, Jimi Tauriainen, Billy Gee
Liverpool: Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley (Clark 72′), Ibrahima Konate (Quansah 105′), Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson (Tsimikas 87′), Alexis Mac Allister (McConnell 87′), Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch (Gomez 28′), Harvey Elliott, Cody Gakpo (Danns 87′), Luis Diaz
Substitutes: Joe Gomez, Adrian, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Bobby Clark, James McConnell, Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns, Jarell Quansah, Trey Nyoni
Referee – Chris Kavanagh
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