Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk powered residence a header in further time as his aspect beat Chelsea 1-0 within the League Cup remaining on Sunday to clinch a record-extending tenth title within the competitors and crown Juergen Klopp’s remaining season in cost with silverware.
Van Dijk rose excessive above his marker to go a nook again throughout purpose and into the far nook within the 118th minute, sparking wild celebrations among the many Liverpool supporters massed at that finish of Wembley stadium.
With the membership main the Premier League and nonetheless within the FA Cup and Europa League, Liverpool’s followers will hope the most recent triumph supplies the launch pad for extra trophies in Klopp’s swansong marketing campaign, with the quadruple nonetheless inside attain.
The Liverpool supervisor, who stated final month he would go away after eight years on the finish of the season, will take specific satisfaction in a victory achieved in testing circumstances, with the membership going through an harm disaster that compelled Klopp to place his religion in a bunch of younger gamers who didn’t let him down.
It was a charming encounter and either side had what they thought had been opening objectives dominated out for offside, with Raheem Sterling denied by the linesman’s flag for Chelsea earlier than the break and Dutchman Van Dijk’s header after the interval chalked off in a controversial name by the VAR.
The probabilities got here thick and quick in a livid end-to-end encounter, with either side hitting the woodwork and spurning quite a few different alternatives.
Liverpool overcame a devastating harm checklist, with the likes of Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, goalkeeper Alisson and Curtis Jones, key forwards Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai not too long ago becoming a member of plenty of long run absentees on the sidelines.
They ended the sport on Sunday with 19-year-olds James McConnell and Bobby Clark and Jayden Danns, 18, on the pitch, with the trio possessing barely a handful of first staff appearances between them.
BRIGHT START
While Liverpool started the brighter, it was Chelsea who had the primary likelihood within the twentieth minute when the ball squirmed to Cole Palmer six yards out however his effort was brilliantly saved by Liverpool’s stand-in goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Liverpool’s harm issues had been then compounded when Ryan Gravenberch was taken off on a stretcher 4 minutes later after Moises Caicedo caught his ankle with a slipshod, mistimed sort out that had Klopp seething on the touchline.
Liverpool had been then handed a reprieve by the lineman’s flag when Sterling tapped residence from Nicolas Jackson’s move, a good name that VAR took time to verify.
Cody Gakpo headed in opposition to the put up from Andy Robertson’s cross in the direction of the top of the half and that was as shut as Liverpool got here till Van Dijk thought he had put them in entrance within the sixtieth minute.
The centre again outjumped Ben Chilwell to go residence however the VAR noticed that Wataru Endo was offside and deemed considerably harshly to be interfering by blocking a Chelsea defender when Andy Robertson’s free kick was crossed into the field.
Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher, who spurned plenty of different probabilities, had the chance to win it within the eighty fifth when he bore down on purpose however his shot was excellently saved by Kelleher earlier than the playmaker blazed one other effort astray.
Harvey Elliott compelled an excellent save from Djordje Petrovic with 5 minutes of additional time remaining because the Liverpool ahead headed powerfully in the direction of the underside nook however his effort was cleared off the road by the keeper.
Yet it didn’t matter as moments later, Van Dijk headed the ball residence to ship the Liverpool supporters into raptures.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
