Written by Zack Oaten – @Zackoaten1
Liverpool have done it, the Carabao cup is ours! After 21 penalties and a nerve wracking 120 minutes, the Reds can take home number 9 with pride after some stellar performances.
Kelleher – 10
What a performance from the young Irishman! Absolutely flawless. From his crucial save in the sixth minute against Pulisic, to his fantastic block of Lukaku’s shot in the 95th minute, Kelleher was a hero today.
The 23-year-old has now won all 3 of his penalty shootouts for Liverpool in the League Cup and his confidence on the ball and intelligence whilst distributing were highly impressive.
Penalty: a missile sent into the top left corner, no keeper is saving that.
Trent – 6
Despite his cool-headed penalty, Trent struggled a bit today. Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic found a lot of space on the right in the first half whilst Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku often drifted around him to fire in a cross in the second. Fairly disappointing from our number 66.
Penalty: Hammers it past Kepa, showing his confidence.
Matip – 7
The Cameroonian was unlucky to have his headed effort at the back post ruled out today which would have put the cherry on top of a fantastic performance. Matip ran forward with swagger, committed himself defensively and formed a strong partnership with Van Dijk as usual.
Van Dijk – 8 – MOTM
The titan at the back once again proved himself as one of the best defenders in the world as he won Man of the Match. The Dutchman was unlucky to have fouled Rudiger in the buildup to Matip’s ruled out goal, but his defensive masterclass outshone that mistake entirely. One notable aspect was the use of the offside trap which denied Chelsea a laughable number of times.
Penalty: The best penalty ever? Kepa can only watch as the ball is smashed above his head. After he teased Virgil by leaving half the goal exposed.
Robertson – 7
Another great game for our Scotsman, brilliant defending all round, making some crucial stops. His link up play with Diaz caused trouble for Chelsea at the back whilst his crosses were unlucky to be blocked a lot of the time by Antonio Rudiger. Overall, it was a sound performance.
Penalty: The passion after putting it past Kepa! Shows how much it meant to him.
Fabinho – 8
A powerhouse in midfield, this man can do anything. The number of tough tackles the Brazilian threw in today was extremely impressive and his awareness of the game is unmatched. By far the best midfielder on the pitch, for either side.
Penalty: Is that Pirlo or Fabinho? Great penalty.
Henderson – 6
It is always a pleasure to see this man do the iconic Hendo Shuffle despite his subpar performance on the pitch. The captain was brought off for Harvey Elliott in the 79th minute after having an underwhelming impact on the game. There were no faults in Henderson’s game today, just a lack of influence.
Keita – 5
After Thiago suffered an injury in the warmup. It was time for Naby Keita to step up and show Klopp why he deserves to be in the starting eleven. Sadly, Keita’s biggest highlight of the game was nearly giving Chalobah a vasectomy after a horror challenge. The Guineans shot from outside of the box was easily parried by Edouard Mendy which about summed up his performance.
Diaz – 7
It is easy to forget how quick Diaz really is, the man is lighting fast. The Columbian left Chalobah and Azpilicueta in the dust a few times when he powered down the wing and consistently created chances. His relationship with Robertson looks like it is improving even more as they both found each other consistently throughout the game. However, he failed to capitalize on quite a few chances and struggled when it came to the final ball.
Mane – 6
How did Mendy save that? Unbeliviable. Sadio was really unlucky not to have scored from a few yards out as Mendy pulled off a world class double save. Overall, Mane was poor today; fans were begging for Jota to replace him after half time as he found it hard to get into the game properly.
Salah – 7
The Egyptian was our most dangerous attacking threat today, his weaving runs, and quick feet seemed too much for Chelsea’s defense and was unlucky not to have scored. Mo’s dink over Mendy was the closest he came to scoring, a bit more power and we could have skipped the nail biting in the penalty shootout.
Penalty: That’s how you take a penalty, top right corner no messing about.
Subs
Elliott – 6
The 18-year-old was brought on for Henderson in the 79th minute and proved more influential in every sector. His highlight of the game was either defending Trent in the scuffle despite his height difference with Rudiger or that pinpoint ball to Salah across the pitch (he has obviously been taking tips from Thiago).
Penalty: Elliott goes left and Kepa dives right, good penalty.
Milner – 7
The man who has won pretty much everything in his career, his experience with the game really showed today. His performance was outstanding, he came on for Naby Keita in the 80th minute and brought a backbone to our midfield.
Penalty: Our best penalty taker scores from the spot with ease.
Konate – 7
Solid at the back, it is hard to replace Matip, but this man came on and filled in his spot perfectly. Konate’s partnership with Van Dijk was immense and he stayed calm throughout Chelsea’s relentless attacks in extra time.
Penalty: Lucky to say the least, but a goal is a goal.
Jota – 6
Jota was barely visible after replacing Mane in the 80th minute, he certainly did not have the impact many would have expected. His biggest highlight was a fluffed shot which was easily cleared, very disappointing.
Penalty: Straight down the middle, classic.
Origi – 7
Although the Belgian came on late in the 97th minute for Diaz, he played well overall, and it was a shame he never got a real chance at goal today as extra time is of course favourite time to score.
Penalty: Great penalty, Kepa dives the other way.
