This Premier League season, Liverpool won the 64th Annual Carabao Cup, the 10th win in the club’s history. Over 88,000 people attended the final between Liverpool and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in London. With 22 shots taken and 11 of those on target, Liverpool was able to beat “The Blues” and take home their 10th Carabao Cup win.
In the first half, both teams had several chances. Liverpool, including important youngsters such as Cody Gapko, created chances, but both teams went into halftime scoreless.
When both teams returned to the field, the first half was analogous to the first, with a multitude of chances, none of which found their landing. After 90 minutes, the game remained scoreless and moved to extra time.
Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp decided to play fresh legs for the extra time, subbing in many young players who grew up at Liverpool Academy, like Bobby Clark and James McCOnnell.
As the overtime was played, it became increasingly obvious that Liverpool had the tactical upper hand. While Liverpool had seven shots towards goal, Chelsea only had five. Liverpool team veteran and captain, Virgil Van Dijk, scored the game winning goal past Djordje Petrovic, resulting in a final score of 1-0.
This win was especially significant because this is Klopp’s last season coaching Liverpool. Klopp’s nine-year tenure as Liverpool’s manager has been nothing short of transformative. The German is known as a genius coach, and has played a large role in Liverpool’s success in decisive tournaments.
Since his arrival in 2015, he has guided Liverpool to win four major trophies: the UEFA Champions League in the 2019, the UEFA Super Cup in 2019, the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and the Premier League 2020.
The Premier League title win in 2020 was a significant milestone in Klopp’s legacy as it marked the end of a 30-year drought.
Beginning in August, English soccer clubs from the EFL and EPL compete in a seven-round tournament, with the semi-final games being played over two games. The games are broadcast worldwide, and the final is highly anticipated and draws millions of viewers. Liverpool is known for performing well, with the most Carabao Cup wins out of any other participating teams.
In the previous 2022/2023 EPL Season, Liverpool finished the season in fifth place, leaving them out of the Champions League, but qualifying the team for the UEFA Europa League. Many fans complained that the team’s performance last season was subpar compared to the previous seasons as Liverpool is usually known to be a high-level, top three placed, EPL team.
After easily beating their competition, “The Reds” made it to the semi-finals of the tournament, and played their first leg against EPL team Fulham. In the first leg, Liverpool beat Fulham 2-1, and in the second leg the teams tied and Liverpool moved on to the finals by aggregate 3-2.While the team has won this tournament, they still have to focus on the EPL season at hand.
