Liverpool wins the EFL Cup in a great match against Chelsea

Chelsea and Liverpool offered a true soccer spectacle at Wembley Stadium, and it was the Reds who won the Carabao Cup trophy. After a scoreless 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time, the champion was decided by penalties.

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The worst nightmare that Kepa could have imagined and that surely had not even crossed his mind came true in the final of the EFL Cup. After an entertaining and evenly matched game in which his teammate Édouard Mendy was the protagonist for his good work, he was the villain. He came on expressly for the penalty shootout and missed the decisive kick after Kelleher, the Red goalkeeper, scored his own.

Chelsea vs Liverpool Highlights

The final started with a very high tempo and many scoring opportunities. After five minutes, Christian Pulisic had the first of the match, who shot after a great assist from César Azpilicueta. The one who prevented the goal was Caoimhin Kelleher, the Irish goalkeeper who started Jürgen Klopp. Chelsea imposed their game at the beginning of the first half and continued to put Liverpool in trouble.

As the minutes passed, the Reds reacted and half an hour into the game had the clearest chance. A double save by Mendy prevented the goal. The match became a back-and-forth affair with chances for both teams, worthy of a final between these two great teams.

In the final minute of the first half Mason Mount had a chance to make it 1-0, but the score remained unchanged. A great assist from Mateo Kovacic to Pulisic set up a counter. Kai Havertz looked for the English striker, but he shot wide.

Second Half

The second half started with a clear opportunity for Chelsea. A ball over the top left Mount one-on-one with Kelleher, but the striker's shot hit the post and did not go in.

Liverpool also had a very clear one after a bad clearance by Mendy. The Senegalese tried to deny, but the ball came out low and fell to an opponent. Mo Salah was one-on-one with the ball, but Thiago Silva arrived to clear it off the line.

A set-piece from Klopp's team complicated Tuchel's defense. Virgil van Dijk made a curtain for Sadio Mané to head it down to Joel Matip, who finished the ball. The execution was perfect because it ended in a goal, but the VAR intervened to disallow it for offside by the Dutch center-back.

It was well penalized as an advanced player cannot interfere with an opponent. A few minutes later the linesman disallowed a goal by Kai Havertz, which was also well charged.

Despite all the scoring chances, the Carabao Cup final went to extra time.

Extra Time

In the first fifteen minutes, it was Chelsea who had the clearest chance. Chalobah anticipated a rival, moved, and assisted Lukaku, who faced the goalkeeper and beat him. Once the Belgian shot, the linesman raised the flag and disallowed it. The offside was very fine, but it existed and the VAR corroborated it. 

In the second fifteen minutes, the fourth goal of the match was disallowed for offside. This time it was again Kai Havertz who scored in a forbidden position.

The Penalties

Very high effectiveness. The goalkeepers did not even have a chance against the shots. They were all great executions. So much so that even the goalkeepers had to take them. Caoimhin Kelleher did well, but Kepa Arrizabalaga (who had come on for the shootout) missed and gave Liverpool the title.

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