Van Dijk’s header in extra time gives Liverpool the Carabao Cup victory.

Following Virgil Van Dijk’s goal in extra time to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, Liverpool made sure that Jurgen Klopp’s last season would conclude with a trophy.
After 90 minutes of a tumultuous match in which both sides were denied goals by video assistant referees, the match was finally settled in the 28th minute of extra time by a glancing header from Liverpool’s captain off a corner.

Ten players from the first team, including Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah, were out due to injury as Liverpool advanced to the final. But encouraged by their boisterous fans, they fiercely battled to defeat Chelsea.
The victory gave Liverpool optimism for an unexpected quadruple and allowed them to win the Carabao Cup ten times in a row.
After a dismal first season in charge of the west London team, Chelsea’s march to the final had seemed to be a bright spot for coach Mauricio Pochettino. However, following Sunday’s loss, the former Tottenham manager has still not taken home an English title.
After a rocky start to the match, Pochettino’s squad almost seized the lead with Cole Palmer’s close-range attempt in the 21st minute, which Caoimhin Kelleher magnificently saved.
In the 28th minute, Ryan Gravenberch was forced to be replaced by Joe Gomez due to a heavy tackle from Moisés Caicedo, further straining Liverpool’s already thin roster.
The assistant referee rightly identified that Nicolas Jackson had strayed offside minutes before when he’d burst free to cross for the England striker, even though Raheem Sterling believed he had given Chelsea the lead in the 31st minute.
On the opposite side, Cody Gakpo’s header from Andy Robertson’s cross left Djordje Petrović rooted to the spot but hit the far upright, denying Liverpool an early lead.
After a protracted VAR assessment determined Wataru Endo was offside, Van Dijk’s strong header from a Robertson free kick at the hour mark caused wild celebrations in the red half of Wembley. However, the goal was disallowed.
Chelsea almost seized the lead in the 77th minute when Conor Gallagher’s effort from Palmer’s ball struck the far post, but the respite seemed to fortify Chelsea’s resolve.
In the 85th minute, the two players collaborated to produce another excellent opportunity, but Kelleher made another outstanding stop to deny Gallagher.
Late on, James McConnell and Jayden Danns, two adolescents, came on in place of Alexis Mac Allister and Gakpo, respectively, exposing Klopp’s lack of choices on the bench.
Danns, who made his Liverpool debut last week against Luton Town, almost scored in extra time, but Djordje Petrovic deflected his header over the crossbar.
Chelsea relaxed off, and Liverpool kept pressing for a goal. Harvey Elliott almost found the back of the net, but Petrovic saved his far-post header wonderfully.

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