Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to win ninth Carabao Cup
Liverpool won a dramatic penalty shoot-out to secure the first domestic trophy of the season after a classic Carabao Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, brought on in the closing moments of extra time as a penalty specialist, missed the decisive spot-kick after a magnificent game came down to a shoot-out between Chelsea’s keeper and his Liverpool counterpart Caoimhin Kelleher.
Kelleher made it 11 penalties from 11 for Liverpool but Kepa blazed wildly over the top as a high-class showpiece was decided by the finest of margins after 21 successful attempts.
Chelsea, who had three goals disallowed for offside, were left to rue two big misses by Mason Mount but they were also grateful for a magnificent display from keeper Edouard Mendy, who produced a string of outstanding saves.
Liverpool created a host of chances and had a Joel Matip goal ruled out for a foul and offside in an incident-packed game that went right down to the wire before Jurgen Klopp’s side prevailed.
Carabao Cup final reactionKelleher rewards Klopp’s faithCaoimhin Kelleher made a number of fine saves during the 120 minutes and then scored his penalty
Manager Jurgen Klopp made it clear as soon as Liverpool reached Wembley that Kelleher would retain his place as the Reds’ goalkeeper in this competition ahead of first-choice Alisson.
It was a decision laced with an element of risk but the 23-year-old repaid Klopp with a complete performance that included scoring Liverpool’s 11th and final penalty.
This was a small element of a remarkably assured performance that started with a crucial early save from Christian Pulisic and also saw him deny Chelsea a last-gasp win with a near-post block from Romelu Lukaku in the losing seconds of extra time.
Kelleher was composed in every aspect of his game as he dominated his area and handled everything that came his way, confirming his growing reputation as a goalkeeper of high promise.
Liverpool had to go all the way to win this trophy for the first time since 2012.
Klopp was forced into a late reshuffle after a tearful Thiago Alcantara was injured in the warm-up, drafting in Naby Keita as a late replacement.
Liverpool traded near misses with Chelsea as both teams refused to take a backward step and it was right that only penalties could separate the sides after an outstanding Wembley occasion.
