Liverpool defeats Chelsea on penalties to triumph in the Carabao Cup
Key takeaways:
- Kepa Arrizabalaga missed the last penalty for Chelsea.
- Liverpool succeeded in a scenic penalty shoot-out to reserve the first domestic trophy of the season after an absolute Carabao Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.
Liverpool lifts the Carabao Cup:
Kepa Arrizabalaga got on in the closing moments of extra time as a penalty expert missed the decisive spot-kick after a glorious game came down to a shoot-out between Chelsea's goalkeeper and his Liverpool counterpart Caoimhin Kelleher.
Kelleher completed 11 penalties from 11 for Liverpool, but Kepa gleamed significantly over the top as a high-class showpiece chosen by the best of margins after 21 successful shots.
Chelsea, who had three goals disallowed for offside, was left to lament two big misses by Mason Mount. Still, they were also thankful for a marvelous display from keeper Edouard Mendy, who had a series of impressive saves.
Liverpool made a host of options and had a Joel Matip goal ruled out for a foul and offside in an incident-packed match that went straight down to the wire before Jurgen Klopp's team won for a record ninth League Cup success.
As soon as Liverpool arrived at Wembley, boss Jurgen Klopp made it clear that Kelleher would keep his place as the Reds' goalkeeper in this contest ahead of first-choice Alisson.
It was a decision laced with an aspect of risk, but the 23-year-old refunded Klopp with a whole performance that included scoring Liverpool's 11th and last penalty.
This was a tiny element of a remarkably confident performance that began with a critical early save from Christian Pulisic and saw him reject Chelsea a last-gasp win with a near-post block from Romelu Lukaku in the final seconds of extra time.
Kelleher was organized in every element of his match. He conquered his area and managed everything that came his way, confirming his growing importance as a goalkeeper of high promise.