A real crime thriller quickly develops in the final against Chelsea. Liverpool has to cope with a shock. In the end it gets dramatic.
Liverpool FC won the first of four possible titles on the big farewell tour for outgoing coach Jürgen Klopp. In a memorable League Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium, the “Reds” won 1-0 (0-0, 0-0) against Chelsea FC after extra time. Virgil van Dijk scored in the 118th minute to make it a success for the current Premier League leaders.
In the final months of this season, Klopp and Liverpool now also have the chance to win the English football championship, the more valuable FA Cup and the Europa League. The 56-year-old will leave his club in the summer after nine seasons. Curious: Liverpool won the League Cup during his term in 2022 – also in the final against Chelsea.
However, Klopp had to cope with a serious shock after just under half an hour in the high-class final: after a foul by Chelsea player Moises Caicedo that was not even punished with a yellow card, former Bayern professional Ryan Gravenberch had to be substituted with an ankle injury (28th). .
Nevertheless, a thrilling game developed with top-class opportunities for both sides. Liverpool were dominant for a long time, but Chelsea also had several great chances through Cole Palmer (21st), Conor Gallagher (76th) and ex-Leipzig player Christopher Nkunku (90th + 3). In addition, both teams had a goal disallowed for offside after several minutes of checking the video images. At Chelsea, Raheem Sterling (33rd) suffered, while at the “Reds” it was the eventual match winner van Dijk (65th).
The game to read in the ticker:
Liverpool FC 1-0 Chelsea FC
120.+3 – Out of! Liverpool FC wins the 2024 League Cup. In a rousing, memorable final, the “Reds” not undeservedly beat Chelsea. After a strong start, Liverpool allowed the “Blues” to come into the game stronger. A game developed in which the game went back and forth at a remarkable pace for almost the entire playing time. In the end, Virgil van Dijk made the difference.
120. – Three more minutes are played.
118. – Wembley is shaking! Liverpool take the lead two minutes before the end of extra time! And again it’s van Dijk. Tsimikas takes a corner from the right, directly onto the Dutchman’s head, which hits the far corner unstoppable for Petrović. And this time the goal counts.
116. – Is this a crime thriller? Harvey Elliott misses the decision for Liverpool! Tsimikas crosses from the left to the far post, where the 1.70 meter tall Elliott stands and heads straight at Chelsea keeper Petrović from very close range. It first bounces off the line, then the ball jumps back into his arms from Liverpool striker Denns, who is standing by. What a drama.
113. – Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino takes captain Chilwell off the field and Trevoh Chalobah replaces him.
111. – After a long back and forth without a conclusion, Madueke took courage and simply saved a Chelsea attack from a good 18 meters. But Kelleher has the ball in the follow-up.
106. – It goes on. 15 minutes left for both teams to reach a decision – otherwise it will (once again) go to a penalty shootout between Chelsea and Liverpool.
105.+1 – Referee Kavanagh ends the first round of extra time.
100. – The “Blues” can’t make any progress in extra time. Instead, Liverpool continues to press: Elliott takes a cross directly from the right of the penalty area, but only hits the side netting.
97. – At Chelsea, Nonso Madueke comes in for the completely exhausted Gallagher.
93. – Liverpool starts better in the extra time – and how: Van Dijk extends an Elliott cross on the left edge of the penalty area back into the middle, then Denns comes to the header – Chelsea goalkeeper Petrović barely steers the ball over the crossbar.