Liverpool beat Chelsea to win the 2023/24 Carabao Cup

After no goals were scored during regular time, in a game that looked like it would go to penalties like the FA Cup final in 2022, Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk scored in the 118^th minute to secure a last-minute victory and add another trophy to Liverpool’s collection. Let’s take a look at all the match highlights.

If you need an example of what Chelsea’s relationship of attempts to goals scored is like, then the first attempt of the game visualises what Chelsea fans have had to deal with all season. In the 19^th minute, Gallager, starting an offensive on the right side of the pitch, passed a beautiful through ball to Sterling on the left. This pass was tactically perfect, it left the Liverpool defenders a few steps behind, and Sterling should have taken a touch to balance himself and then put that ball in the back of the net. Instead, due to poor footwork, Sterling messed up the attempt, but Chelsea hadn’t been neutralised yet. Palmer, getting his foot on the ball, attempted to score, but Kelleher produced an outstanding save with his arms outstretched, deflecting the ball to Jackson, whose attempt he also saved. Gallagher’s initial reaction to Sterling’s failure to secure an early goal to put Chelsea in the lead summarises the reality that the attempt should not have been missed, and that was before two more of his teammates tried and failed to score.

The next major attempt of the game was another Chelsea one, in which Jackson, in a fast-paced offensive, crossed the ball to Sterling who put it in the back of the net. During this, the offside flag was not raised, however, after the ball went in the goal, the flag went up. Chelsea fans will definitely be experiencing a little déjà vu with that one. When checked by VAR, the goal was deemed to be offside by a hair, an annoying but fair decision.

Up until the 37^th or so minute, Chelsea was playing as the more dangerous side. That was until, Robertson’s attempt in the 39^th minute, which saw him almost head the ball straight into the goal but instead hit the post whilst Petrovich could only watch where the ball went. This was the last significant attempt of the first half, which ended 0-0.

In the second half, Liverpool created the first attempt: in the 59^th minute, a freekick taken by Roberton saw the ball crossed superbly into the box where it found Van Dijk’s head, who put it in the back of the net beyond the reach of Petrovich. Whilst no offside flag was raised during or after this attempt, when checked by VAR, it was given offside and the score returned to 0-0.

Chelsea didn’t learn from Liverpool’s miss to the post, and in the 75^th minute, Palmer crossed the ball from the right side into the box to Gallagher, who shot it into the left post. Another Chelsea attempt that leaves fans wondering what they do in training to miss such an easy chance, especially since Kelleher would have had no chance to save it. As someone who has been a Chelsea supporter for over 10 years, seeing us miss an attempt like that in a final that still has everything to be played for is more frustrating than seeing us in 11^th place in the Premier League this season after a terrible last season. Understandably, Gallagher’s positioning wasn’t great to take the shot we needed and he was falling, but he was also ready in the box for a cross-in, so he should have done better. This was the final good attempt in regular time. So far, Chelsea had more attempts on target to go in, so they should have taken the few minutes before extra time started to revise their tactics to bring the trophy home and reward their fans for supporting them through their rough patch. Whatever Pochettino said clearly wasn’t good enough though.

Onto extra time now, and Liverpool proved that they hadn’t given up on the idea of winning by scoring a goal, and in the 3^rd minute, Van Dijk beat Gusto to the header, and sent it to Danns, who almost scored with a brilliant header that would have seen him become a legendary super-sub. Petrovich wasn’t ready to lose yet though and produced a marvellous save, sending the ball over the net. This proved not to be enough, and a Liverpool corner in the 27^th minute saw Van Dijk finally get his header into the goal to win the game.

Gary Neville’s comment of “It’s Klopp’s kids against the billion pound bottle jobs” on Sky Sports after Liverpool’s goal has been referenced in almost all the post-media coverage in articles, YouTube videos, and of course memes too. Slightly inaccurate, considering Chelsea’s squad had a younger average than Liverpool’s, but fair in terms of experience. As someone commentating on the game though, whilst it is completely fair to have a team you want to win, Neville’s comment showed a lack of transparency that wasn’t fair to the Blues.

Post-match, Liverpool went on to beat Southampton 3-0, whilst Chelsea only beat Leeds 3-2. After this match, Sky Sports Premier League released a YouTube video titled “Did Gary Neville’s ‘billion pound bottle jobs’ comment motivate Chelsea?” It's obvious that whilst Sky Sports is publicly supporting Neville, the comment was still inappropriate, and they clearly are aware of this. Liverpool seems to be on track to win the treble like Manchester City did last season, as they are currently first in the Premier League. Chelsea however, currently are fighting to get back into the top ten, and it is unlikely they will make it to the FA Cup final. If they do, they will have the extra pressure of making this final count, after they made it six consecutive final losses with their performance in the 2023/2024 Carabao Cup.