Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (Liverpool win 11-10 on penalties)
Liverpool are Carabao Cup champions after beating Chelsea 11-10 on penalties at the end of a thrilling Wembley final.
After all 20 outfield players had converted from the spot, Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher scored his penalty before Kepa Arrizabalaga – brought on moments before the end of extra time to become the hero – blazed his attempt over the bar.
There had been no fewer than four disallowed goals to set up the shootout – one for Liverpool and three for Chelsea – as Jurgen Klopp’s men lifted the first trophy of the domestic season.
Chelsea had been made to pay for a host of missed chances, Mason Mount guilty of missing from just yards out after Christian Pulisic’s run through the middle, the England international later hitting the post to leave Kelleher floundering.
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Edouard Mendy had kept the scores level with a spectacular double-save to first deny Naby Keita from range and then to keep out Sadio Mane’s follow-up.
A breakthrough finally looked to have come through Joel Matip, as he bundled in Mane’s header across goal after Trent Alexander-Arnold had tricked Chelsea’s defence into thinking Mohamed Salah would take the free-kick.
The smoke of red flares from the Liverpool end was still wafting around Wembley as Stuart Attwell belatedly made his way over to the VAR monitors, ruling Virgil van Dijk had been marginally offside when he blocked off Reece James’ run.
Chelsea had a goal of their own disallowed when Kelleher came close to keeping out Kai Havertz’s header, only for the ball to have crept over the line but Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku having fallen for Liverpool’s high line.
Christian Pulisic could have broken the deadlock early on but could only pull off a tame shot, and the pendulum soon swung back in Liverpool’s favour as Luis Diaz continued his impressive introduction to English football, drawing three fouls in the first half alone.
It could have turned into a bad-tempered final, with Keita making two late tackles but rightly staying on despite an uncomfortable clash with Trevoh Chalobah.
Salah, who had largely been stifled by Antonio Rudiger, could not convert Liverpool’s best opportunity when Mendy’s botched outwards pass allowed the Reds to counter, the Egyptian’s attempted chip kept off the line by Thiago Silva.
Lukaku had a second Chelsea goal chalked off for a marginal offside, his ill-timed run squandering a brilliant finish after a drag-back onto his stronger foot. Havertz’s strike in the 20th minute of extra time was also disallowed, though this time his transgression past Van Dijk was much more clear cut.
With penalties on the way, Thomas Tuchel turned to Kepa – three years after his infamous refusal to be substituted by Maurizio Sarri – hoping for a dramatic League Cup final for the right reasons this time.
Kepa was unable to save any of Liverpool’s first 10 penalties, but nor did Kelleher have any answer to Chelsea’s initial spot-kicks. That left it to the two goalkeepers to take one each as Tuchel’s hopes of turning Kepa into the game-changer backfired.
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Player ratings
Chelsea
- Mendy – 8
- Chalobah – 6
- T Silva – 8
- Rudiger – 7
- Azpilicueta – 7
- Kante – 6
- Kovacic – 7
- Alonso – 6
- Mount – 6
- Pulisic – 6
- Havertz – 7
Substitutes:
- James – 6
- Lukaku – 7
- Werner – 6
- Jorginho – 6
- Kepa – 5
Liverpool
- Kelleher – 7
- Alexander-Arnold – 8
- Matip – 6
- Van Dijk – 7
- Robertson – 6
- Henderson – 6
- Fabinho – 6
- Keita – 5
- Salah – 6
- Mane – 6
- Diaz – 8
Substitutes:
- Jota – 6
- Elliott – 7
- Milner -7
- Konate – 6
- Origi – 6
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