![]() ![]() Hardly ideal in a tense final that remained 0-0 at the time.īobby Clark only turned 19 earlier this month but replaced Bradley in the 72nd minute, while another 19-year-old in James McConnell as well as the recently-turned 18-year-old Jayden Danns were brought on for World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and Netherlands international Cody Gakpo in the 87th minute. Less than a year after lifting the Papa John’s Trophy at Wembley, the Northern Irishman was back to try and claim the EFL Cup.Īlthough Liverpool were down to the bare bones of their squad, it wasn’t until the latter stages of normal time that their team started to get less and less experienced. Apart from the 21-year-old Gravenberch, Elliott was the only one of Liverpool’s youngsters who arrived with much top-level experience, though.Ĭonor Bradley started at right-back and the 20-year-old is already beginning to feel like a first-team regular, despite playing fewer than 1,000 minutes for Liverpool in all competitions prior to Sunday’s game and being on loan at League One Bolton Wanderers this time last season. It’s easy to forget he’s only 20 years old, and he shone again on the big stage for the club he’s supported since his relatively recent childhood. Harvey Elliott started in attack just a few days after making his 100th appearance for Liverpool. Their substitutes bench consisted of Adrián, Joe Gomez, Tsimikas and the cast of Grange Hill. Without Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez among others, Liverpool were left with little choice but to select the team they went with. ![]() It gave Liverpool their record-extending 10th League Cup, handed Chelsea their sixth consecutive defeat in a domestic cup final – also an English record – and guaranteed Klopp at least one trophy in his final season in England. ![]() Then Virgil van Dijk rose highest to nod in a Kostas Tsimikas corner with just two minutes of extra-time remaining. By the end of normal time the 11 on the pitch for Liverpool included three academy players with just 220 minutes of senior football between them.īoth teams had chances to win it in the first 90 minutes but the woodwork, marginal offsides, excellent goalkeeping and wasteful finishing denied them. Klopp was without 11 senior players before the match, and lost Ryan Gravenberch to an ankle injury during the first half. It was Liverpool who were riddled with injury problems going into the game, though, turning to their own youngsters as it wore on, more out of necessity than anything else. Liverpool comfortably beat Chelsea 4-1 at Anfield just a few weeks ago and are top of the Premier League, while Mauricio Pochettino’s side are 11th in the table, but this still felt like anyone’s game.Ĭhelsea have been without several players with injuries during the season, which has not helped the settling in period for Pochettino or his young but expensively assembled squad. Sunday’s clash at Wembley had a strange feeling about it. Jürgen Klopp’s familiar toothy expression was beaming with pride after his Liverpool team beat Chelsea 1-0 in the 2024 EFL Cup final, despite having to rely on his younger players perhaps more than he’d originally have hoped. It’s absolutely exceptional.” Jürgen Klopp “There are longer careers than mine but in more than 20 years, easily the most special trophy I ever won. The Liverpool team that finished the EFL Cup final against Chelsea was filled with players you might mistake for Football Manager regens, but their boldness and the leadership of Virgil van Dijk won the trophy for Jürgen Klopp’s men/boys. ![]()
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