Liverpool beat Chelsea after penalties in blood-curdling League Cup final

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League Cup final

Liverpool won the League Cup for the ninth time on Sunday. Manager Jürgen Klopp’s team was too strong for Chelsea in a thrilling final at Wembley after penalties after no goals were scored in 120 minutes.

Liverpool appeared to take the lead midway through the second half through Joël Matip, but the goal was disallowed on the advice of VAR because Virgil van Dijk was offside in the run-up to it.

Eleven minutes later, a goal by Kai Havertz for Chelsea was also canceled for offside. Van Dijk was close to the opening goal in injury time with a header, but Édouard Mendy turned the bet. In extra time, hits by Romelu Lukaku and Havertz were also disallowed for offside.

League Cup final

In a bloodcurdling penalty shootout, Liverpool won 11-10. Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was brought in just before time for the penalty series, was the only one to miss.

Thanks to the win, Liverpool is now the only record holder for the number of League Cups won. The Reds shared the record with Manchester City, having previously won the English Cup in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003 and 2012.

Liverpool goal disallowed for offside Van Dijk

At a packed Wembley, Liverpool, where Thiago Alcântara dropped out injured in the warm-up, and Chelsea made it a very attractive game. The game went back and forth with both teams having a number of chances.

In the first half, Christian Pulisic encountered Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy had two great saves on a long shot from Naby Keita and the rebound from Sadio Mane. Just before half time, Mason Mount shot just wide on behalf of ‘The Blues’, where Hakim Ziyech was missing due to an injury.

After the break, the chances piled up. Mount hit the post early in the second half, after which Matip found the goal in the 67th minute. The Cameroonian headed in from close range after Mane had returned a free kick with the head, but the goal was canceled after the intervention of the VAR due to Van Dijk’s offside.

Kepa is the only one to miss in penalty kicks (League Cup final)

Moments later, a goal by Havertz from close range was also disallowed for offside. Mendy and Kelleher kept their teams going in the final phase with saves on goals by Van Dijk, Luis Díaz and Lukaku, which meant that extra time was needed.

In the fifth minute of extra time, Lukaku scored, but the Belgian was offside. Havertz also saw his goal in the 109th minute not go through for the same reason. No more goals were scored and a penalty shootout had to be the deciding factor.

At Chelsea, Kepa was brought in just before time for the penalty shootout, but the Spanish goalkeeper was passed no less than 11 times and was the only one to miss by shooting high.

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