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Looking to snatch their first domestic cup in a decade, Liverpool took on Chelsea in Sunday’s highly-anticipated EFL Cup final at Wembley.
The prestigious stadium in London held its breath as the two Premier League heavyweights exchanged blows for 120 minutes, but a breakthrough wasn’t to come. It finally boiled down to penalties, in which all of the Reds’ 11 players converted to bring the trophy home.
To no one’s surprise, Jurgen Klopp instructed his men to win the ball higher up the pitch. The men in red won the ball just fine, but were unable to use it effectively themselves. After a jittery opening quarter of an hour, Liverpool started looking like their familiar selves and started stringing meaningful passes together. In the 17th minute, Sadio Mane got on the end of a sumptuous Trent Alexander-Arnold cross but failed to keep his effort on target.
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The Senegalese got another excellent opportunity in the 30th minute, but Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy came to the west London side’s rescue.
In the second half, a seemingly perfect set-piece routine saw Joel Matip hit the back of the net for the Reds. Unfortunately, the VAR sanctioned Virgil van Dijk for obstruction of play in the build-up and chalked it out for offside.
Jurgen Klopp’s men came close a couple more times over the course of the match but could not breach Mendy’s resistance. Following a goalless end to the encounter, the match went into penalties, and the Reds managed to net 11 consecutive spot-kicks to win the game.
Here are five players who shone in the nine-time EFL Cup champions’ hard-fought win over Chelsea:
#5 Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold once again showed why he is rated as one of the best attack-minded defenders in the world.
He produced inch-perfect crosses and passes at will, registering a whopping six key passes against the Blues.
Although the goal was ruled out by VAR, his delivery for Mane, which led to Matip’s header in the 67th minute, was pure gold.
Slotted his penalty into the top-left corner to maintain the Reds’ perfect spot-kick run.
#4 Virgil van Dijk
Sitting at the heart of the Merseysiders’ defense, Virgil van Dijk made sure nothing untoward happened at the back.
He was focused, firm, and was unlucky to be penalized for the Reds’ disallowed goal in the second half.
The big Dutchman registered six clearances, won eight aerial duels, registered six long balls, and made 72 accurate passes with 88.9 percent accuracy.
Took his penalty expertly as well, beating Kepa Arrizabalaga for pace.
#3 Fabinho
With Thiago ruled out with a late injury, Liverpool needed someone to step up and lock horns with Chelsea’s famed midfield.
Fabinho answered the call and produced one of his best performances of the season to stop the Blues from overrunning the midfield.
Like most of his teammates, the Brazilian also struggled to get a foothold in the opening few minutes.
After the initial storm had passed, Fabinho slowly and surely crept into the game and started dominating proceedings. His positioning was immaculate, passing was accurate, and he also switched play with his precise long-balls.
Against Chelsea, Fabinho made 63 passes with 92.6 percent accuracy, pinged six long-balls to his teammates, and registered a key pass. He also made two interceptions, attempted a tackle, and performed a clearance.
The midfielder also exuded calmness when taking his penalty kick. Instead of opting for power, he casually dinked the ball down the middle, completely beating Kepa.
#2 Luis Diaz
Since his transfer from Porto in January, Luis Diaz has proven himself to be quite a handful.
Last night, he extended his purple patch, emerging as the Reds’ most dependable and excitable forward against Thomas Tuchel’s side.
The Colombian international was a live wire on the pitch, always prepared to take players head-on. He used his footwork and movement to keep Trevoh Chalobah on his toes.
Diaz attempted four shots against the Blues, two of which were saved by Mendy while the other two were blocked.
He also did the dirty work well, helping out at the back tirelessly until his 97th-minute substitution.
#1 Caoimhin Kelleher
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp decided to rest Alisson in Sunday’s EFL Cup final, giving the Brazilian’s understudy, Caoimhin Kelleher, another chance.
Kelleher, who had only featured in seven games across all competitions leading up to the match, needed to do something special to gain Klopp’s faith. And that is exactly what he did in front of a packed Wembley.
Kelleher was confident, collected, and agile inside his box. He read the game well, positioned himself superbly and expertly thwarted a couple of great Chelsea attempts.
The first save came in the sixth minute when Cesar Azpilicueta played Christian Pulisic through on goal with a perfectly weighted through ball. The Irishman made himself big to stop the ball from going in.
His second big save came in the 95h minute when Romelu Lukaku cleverly slid inside the box. The Belgian’s toe-poke was neat, but it wasn't enough to beat the Liverpool shot-stopper.
The 23-year-old was also tasked with taking the Merseysiders’ all-important 11th penalty kick.
Without hesitation, he rocketed the ball into the top-left corner, which ended up being the decisive strike on Sunday night.
