Jurgen Klopp insisted he had not doubts in selecting 23-year-old goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for Liverpool’s dramatic Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea on Sunday after the Irishman converted the winning penalty in the shoot-out.
Liverpool won a record ninth League Cup thanks to Kelleher’s heroics right at the death. Granted, the goalkeeper didn’t save a single Chelsea spot-kick but was on hand to convert Liverpool’s 11th penalty, before Kepa Arrizabalaga fired over.
Chelsea were three times denied by the offside flag while Liverpool also had a goal ruled out by the assistant referee during a pulsating Wembley final.
Klopp – who left experienced goalkeeper Alisson on the bench – says he wasn’t worried about selecting Kelleher, who was making only his 17th appearance in a Reds shirt.
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“Even in professional football there should be space for some sentiment,” Klopp said in his post-match interview on Sky Sports. “Caoimhin Kelleher is a young boy, plays in all the competition, what do I do? I am two things, a professional manager and a human being and the human being won. He deserves it.
“At the training centre we have a wall that all goalkeepers are on who won something and Caoimhin can go on it – that’s how it should be – absolutely great.
“I am happy for the people to celebrate something like this. Chelsea are incredibly strong, we matched each other.”
For a goalkeeper who had made so few first-team appearances for Liverpool heading into this final, the trust Klopp has in Caoimhin Kelleher really is something to be admired.
At 23, Kelleher already has a Champions League and Uefa Super Cup medal stashed away back home – but to start and finish his first final, to deny Chelsea on numerous occasions and score the winning penalty is the sort of evening kids across the world can only dream of.
“It’s a mad one,” Kelleher said on Sky at full time. “I got close to a few and when it came down to me I didn’t even think I had scored the winning penalty. I’d forgotten I’d got the winning one. All the lads were class, I was just happy to score.
“It was more hit and hope. I got close to a few but all the penalties were very high quality, thankfully we were able to win. I thought we had scored when we got the disallowed goal but they had a few disallowed so I think a draw was a fair result overall.”
In leading Liverpool to the Carabao Cup, Kelleher has also written his name into club legend.
“He [Jurgen Klopp] just said ‘well done for scoring the winning penalty, there’s a wall with all the goalkeepers on who have won cups so now you can go on that’.”
Once Liverpool’s players had celebrated with the trophy on the pitch, Jordan Henderson handed the cup to Kelleher and told him to make sure he got photos of himself lifting it aloft.
“We have used all the squad, academy, first team, all chipped in which makes it really special,” said Henderson. “It is mad to think it was 10 years we won it.
“Today was really special, never take for granted playing for this club. The fans deserve it and hopefully it can give us a kick start for the rest of the season.”
As for Klopp, his mind is already on the next competition – an FA Cup fifth-round clash with Norwich.
“We have to work hard. We play on Wednesday again, which I cannot believe now,” said the boss. “We will give it a try. It is a home game and it will be rocking because of tonight.”
Chelsea may well feel hard done by after seeing three goals ruled out for offside. While Mason Mount and Kai Havertz were markedly the wrong side of their defenders, Romelu Lukaku’s run could not have been more than millimetres beyond Virgil van Dijk as he was played through and expertly finished past Kelleher.
“The disallowed goal for Romelu is a very close call,” said Blues manager Thomas Tuchel in his interview. “There are bad feelings about this call.
“You need a bit of luck, we scored three times, had big chances, they had big chances, It was a fair result all the way to have a draw.”
The irony of Kepa coming onto the field to replace the excellent Edouard Mendy moments before the penalty shootout was not lost on many Chelsea fans. Three years ago in this very final at Wembley, Kepa refused manager Maurizio Sarri’s instructions to come off in place of Willy Caballero as Chelsea’s clash with Manchester City ticked towards 120 minutes.
The result was a furious Sarri storming back to his seat, City going on to win the shoot-out, and the manager losing all respect amongst the players. Sarri was gone by the summer.
Mendy had a fine game and sensationally prevented Sadio Mane from opening the scoring from four yards out during normal time.
But Tuchel decided to make the switch and explained his decision after the contest, saying: “We did it before with Kepa, he is slightly better in penalty saving and that is why I made the decision.
“It is unusual all 11 players need to shoot, he took it a bit too quick. Sometimes these things can turn against you but you make them when they need to be made, not after when people can judge you.”
The decision to haul Mendy off left Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp dumfounded. While ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink said penalty taking wasn’t a “strong point” of Kepa’s, Redknapp branded it “one of the worst penalties we’ve ever seen”.
“Saving penalties wasn’t today either, though. I think it is rubbish, and I hope this puts it to bed. I just think it is nonsense, he didn’t come close to saving a penalty,” Redknapp said.
Meanwhile, Van Dijk arguably had the last say on the issue, telling the TV cameras: “I think the penalties were all pretty good, except for obviously the last penalty.”
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