Kelleher the hero! Liverpool win the League Cup

Chelsea and Liverpool are competing for the first trophy of the season. The match brought four disallowed goals, great chances and finally a huge joy of Reds fans. The duel between Klopp and Tuchel was won by the former.

The first half offered some interesting chances. First, Christian Pulisic had a chance, but he directed his shot only to Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher. We had to wait until the 30th minute for the next big chance when Mané got to a deflected ball after a Keita shot, but even he couldn’t beat Mendy from close range.

Azpilicueta and Mount had further chances after that. But the first half ended goalless. But it offered a lot of beautiful action and excellent saves by the goalkeepers.

The second half offered a great spectacle. Mason Mount had a huge chance right from the start, but his shot only ended up on Kelleher’s bar. Chelsea defender Reece James also got into the game after a long break.

Mohammed Salah then had a chance, outmuscling the Senegalese goalkeeper on an independent run at Mendy, but his chance was turned away by the Chelsea defence.

Then came the first disallowed goal of the game. Salah played a standard situation to Mané, who extended to the back post where Joel Matip headed, but he was offside. After a great chance by Liverpool’s Diaz, midfielder Mateo Kovacic was behind the defence and crossed to Havertz for the goal, but the referee didn’t award that either due to offside.

The last ten minutes of the game still offered a very attractive spectacle. Reds players had several chances, but all of them were saved by the great Mendy. But the game ended in a goalless draw after 90 minutes, despite great opportunities for both teams.

In the extra time, Chelsea were not very lucky, firstly Romelu Lukaku’s goal was disallowed and Kai Havertz must have been unlucky as well, he scored another goal ten minutes before the end of the extra time, but the referee didn’t concede that one either.

By the penalty shootout it was already clear what move Thomas Tuchel would prepare. Kepa Arrizabalaga has been the hero of the penalty lottery several times, fans must surely remember his defiance against being substituted in the 2019 League Cup final.

There was no goal from play after 120 minutes, so it was the shootout’s turn. In it, Reds midfielder Fabinho showed his great long-range skills. After 20 attempts, all shooters were accurate, so it was the goalkeepers’ turn. The more successful of the two goalkeepers was Liverpool’s Irish goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, who converted his penalty, while his counterpart Kepa sent it high over.

And so the celebrations could begin. Liverpool became the most successful club in League Cup history. It won the competition for the ninth time. In the final, they beat Chelsea 11-10 on penalties.

Source: Nova Sport, Carabao Cup