German coach Jürgen Klopp won the first of four possible titles with Liverpool FC in his final season.
The leaders of the English Premier League won the League Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium 1-0 (0-0) after extra time against Chelsea FC. Dutchman Virgil van Dijk headed the decisive goal in the 118th minute of this thrilling and fast-paced final.
Klopp and Liverpool can still win the English football championship, the more valuable FA Cup and the Europa League this season. The 56-year-old will leave his club in the summer after nine seasons. Liverpool won the League Cup during his term in 2022 – also in the final against Chelsea.
Due to a technical problem with the ticket system, numerous fans of both teams were waiting to be admitted in front of the stadium shortly before kick-off.
Chelsea misses several great opportunities
The high-class final still started on time and, from Klopp’s perspective, had a moment of shock early on: after a foul by Chelsea player Moises Caicedo that wasn’t even punished with a yellow card, former Bayern professional Ryan Gravenberch had to be substituted with an ankle injury (28th). .
Liverpool were dominant for a long time, but Chelsea also had several great chances through Cole Palmer (21st), Conor Gallagher (76th) and ex-Leipzig player Christopher Nkunku (90th 3). In addition, both teams had a goal disallowed for offside after several minutes of checking the video images. At Chelsea, Raheem Sterling (33rd) suffered, while at the “Reds” it was the eventual match winner van Dijk (65th).
