Liverpool lift Carabao Cup title after Virgil van Dijk's extra-time winner against Chelsea

This is the third time Chelsea have lost the domestic final to Liverpool

Deep into extra time, Virgil van Dijk scored to win the Carabao Cup for Jurgen Klopp’s young Liverpool team against Chelsea at Wembley in an exciting final.

At least one trophy will be won by the team thanks to Jurgen Klopp’s final season, but it took a while to get there in a crazy match that managed to remain goalless for almost the whole time at Wembley.

Both teams hit the post, there were VAR foils for every club, and numerous opportunities were missed. But Van Dijk was the one to seal the deal, coming in highest and driving in from a corner as penalties were about to be called.

Chelsea will only look back with regret, and Mauricio Pochettino will still have to wait to win his first trophy in England.

Wembley got underway quickly, putting both goalkeepers to the test right away. Initially, Djordje Petrovic was in the Chelsea net, having been called into action by Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister twice in rapid succession. Subsequently, Cole Palmer was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher, who made an incredible stop at close range.

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The opportunities continued to present themselves. Although Nicolas Jackson was very certainly offside during the build-up, VAR decided that Raheem Sterling’s goal for Chelsea was in the back of the net. Then, Cody Gakpo hit a header that shook the Blues post.

Another major factor in the hour was VAR. Van Dijk believed he had put Liverpool ahead from a free-kick, but following a thorough review, it was determined that Wataru Endo was offside during the build-up, obstructing Levi Colwill, who was marking the Reds captain.

With just a minute remaining in the extra time, the breakthrough was eventually made. Once more, van Dijk got up—this time from a corner—to nod in at the Liverpool end, causing chaos for the Reds.

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