A final that was originally a chicken rib final became a stage for emotional catharsis.
In the 2021/22 English League Cup final, Liverpool played Chelsea. Although it is about the fate of the championship trophy, the Reds and the Blues have their own minds and purposes.
Klopp made it clear before the game that he would continue to let substitute goalkeeper Clareman Kelleher start, not only for commitment, but also about honour – at Melwood Training Base, there was a wall reserved for all goalkeepers who won the title for Liverpool. If Kelleher starts and Liverpool win the title, the young goalkeeper is rightly on the wall.
Tuchel is keen to claim his first Domestic England title since he coached Chelsea, sending some warmth to boss Abramovich, who has recently been the target of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Although he had joked before the game that if losing the final would help Ukraine, he wouldn't mind. But when the final began, Tuchel almost lined up the strongest line-up.
With the "red and blue war" as the name of the League Cup, this final clearly has the highest level of duel in football today, although Alisson did not play, but in addition to the goalkeeper, Klopp is also the main force.
Such a lineup will not disappoint the fans. After the opening, the old rivals, who knew the roots, directly launched a confrontation - Pulisic's unguarded close-range push inside the penalty area was subconsciously blocked by Kelleher, rewarding the manager's kindness; Mendy staged a heroic 2-game save to keep Keita's long-range shot and Mane's supplementary shot out.
The two teams opened and closed to make the game full of excitement, and the high-intensity confrontation and high-tempo conversion made the fans addicted. Since then, the Blues have taken full control of the game. Havertz and Mount missed a succession of great chances to break the goal, and Kelleher and the goalpost teamed up to stop the Blues' goal-breaking efforts.
Yi Bian fought again, and the Red Army stepped up its offensive and gradually regained the initiative in the game. Under the pressure of the high post, Mendy's pass was wrong, Salah got the ball and single-handedly shot, Thiago Silva barbed before the ball into the net, saving Mendy. Matip finally knocked on the goal guarded by Mendy with his head, but VAR confirmed that Van Dijk's interference with the defense in the offside position was ruled invalid; subsequently, Havertz's header was also invalidated because the cross was offside.
In extra time, Lukaku's gross offside invalidated the goal and Havertz's final-minute goal was ruled offside. This 0-0, compared to the 2-2 martian splash in early January, is not inferior, but unfortunately, 4 goals were blown off because of offside.
If the game continues, Klopp and Tuchel's two famous coaches in this final will definitely become the textbook in the League Cup, but Tuchel replaced Mendy with Kepa at the end of extra time, like Southgate's possession.
As the most expensive goalkeeper in the history of football, Kepa's ability to save penalties is indeed worth looking forward to, and changing the goalkeeper before the penalty shootout can indeed throw pressure on the opponent, but should Tuchel give Kepa more minutes of moments to get excited? Had he forgotten Southgate's pain?
As a result, kepa tried his best in the penalty shootout, but he was always a little bit worse, and like Kelleher, he did not save a single one. The top 10 players on both sides were all playing, so Kepa and Kelleher two goalkeepers began a direct dialogue in the 11th round.
The young Kelleher was able to make a move, and Kepa, seemingly unprepared for a penalty, gave the Carabao Cup to his opponent with a shot that resembled a big kick.
After 10 years, Liverpool won the League Cup again, becoming the team that won the most League Cup titles. What's more, with this final victory, Liverpool tied Manchester United with 66 trophies and tied for the most English club titles.
This is a final recorded in the annals of the League Cup, although it is not a classic, but the high-level competition shown by the Reds and the Blues is already the peak of the League Cup final, and the only flaw should be Tuchel's substitution!
Cheers for the Red Army, sorry for Abu, that's it...