In his days as coach of Roda JC and PSV, Jan Reker had his penalty booklet, Jürgen Klopp has Neuro11. The German manager took his place for the press conference after the FA Cup final won and first praised two German neuroscientists. He told how Niklas Häusler and Patrick Häntschke approached him three years ago, offering to help players take penalty kicks. The pandemic delayed the project, but the work of the young ‘brain trainers’ was now fully visible.
Two hours before Klopp’s praise, history had repeated itself. As with the League Cup final at the end of February, Chelsea and Liverpool had failed to score after 120 minutes. After that game, on the side of the Liverpool fans, a penalty shootout followed in which deputy Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa was the first to miss after 21 hits. Now on the Chelsea side, the series ended in 6-5 for Liverpool. Only Sadio Mane missed for the reds, face to face with his friend and compatriot Edouard Mendy. At Chelsea, César Azpilicueta missed in the first series, and Mason Mount missed the sixth of the Londoners. Konstantinos Tsimikas gave Liverpool the cup.
Everything won
In taking the world’s oldest cup, Klopp, who recently signed up to 2026, has won everything there is to win with Liverpool. “It’s a shame we can’t party for too long,” he said. “Because the match planners have been so helpful in sending us back to Southampton on Tuesday.” Liverpool must win in the southern English port city to keep a small chance of the quadruple, winning four trophies in one season. Manchester City are favorites to extend the league title.
At Liverpool, Luis Díaz played a leading role in the final. With his speed and skills, the Colombian left winger caused panic in Chelsea’s rear especially during the opening stages. However, the 25-year-old, who has been compared to Luis Suárez, did not crown his actions. After Chelsea star Reece James put things in order in the back, the Londoners got back into the game. After the break, Chelsea came close to scoring when a free kick by Marcos Alonso landed the ball on the crossbar.
Liverpool also hit the goal frame. In the 84th minute, Díaz shot one and Andy Robertson the other. In extra time, the teams were on their gums. It was Liverpool’s sixtieth game of the season. With a view to the approaching Champions League final, Klopp pulled defender Virgil van Dijk to the side, after the Orange captain got an uneasy feeling in one of his knees.
Exactly a century after Billy Smith converted the first penalty on behalf of Huddersfield into an FA Cup final, this anniversary edition had to be decided from the penalty spot. Klopp showed he could once again be the boss of Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel.