LONDON —
Jurgen Klopp challenged Liverpool
to chase a historic quadruple after the Reds won the League Cup final in a
dramatic penalty shoot-out against Chelsea on Sunday.
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Klopp’s side clinched the first of the four major
trophies they are competing for this term when Chelsea goalkeeper
Kepa Arrizabalaga smashed his penalty high over the crossbar.
Kepa was the only player to miss in the shoot-out as
Liverpool converted all 11 of their kicks and Chelsea netted 10.
It was a fittingly tense conclusion to a thrilling
encounter that finished 0-0 after extra-time despite both sides creating
numerous chances.
Liverpool had a
Joel Matip goal controversially
disallowed for a dubious offside against Virgil van Dijk in the second half.
Chelsea were denied three times by the offside flag,
with Blues boss Thomas Tuchel furious that Romelu Lukaku’s effort didn’t
survive a VAR check.
Liverpool’s record ninth League Cup triumph was
their first domestic knockout tournament triumph since 2012.
Having failed to win a trophy last season, Klopp
believes his players can use the momentum from their Wembley success to fuel
their bid to become the first English club to enjoy a trophy clean-sweep.
The Reds are six
points behind Premier League leaders
Manchester City with a game in hand, hold
a 2-0 lead heading into their Champions League last-16 second leg against Inter
Milan and host Norwich in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday.
“This is the start. We are not silly. You need luck.
We have to survive, work hard and, we have to play on Wednesday again, which I
cannot believe at this moment,” Klopp said.
“Anfield will be rocking because of this result and
hopefully we can deliver a game to enjoy.
“We don’t get
nervous when things don’t go well. We are more experienced now.
“It’s a big one for us. The first time for this
group. The atmosphere was outstanding. It was nice to celebrate with the people
after the match.”
‘Two lions going at each other’
Liverpool’s final kick in the shoot-out was coolly converted by keeper
Caoimhin Kelleher, who was again deputising for first-choice
Allison Beckerafter playing all but one game in the competition this season.
“The game he
played was absolutely incredible. I can remember two brilliant saves. He showed
his full skill set in the penalty shoot-out,” Klopp said.
“It was like two
lions going at each other. It was absolutely crazy. It was one of the most
spectacular shoot-outs I ever saw.”
Tuchel insisted
he will not second-guess his decision to send on Kepa to replace Edouard Mendy,
who had made a series of superb saves throughout the match.
Kepa has a
reputation as a penalty-saving expert and came off the bench to help win the
UEFA Super Cup shoot-out against Villarreal earlier this season.
But the Spaniard
failed to repel any of
Liverpool’s kicks before his own miss.
“We did it
before with Kepa, he is slightly better in penalty saving and that is why I
made the decision. It is unusual all 11 players need to shoot, he took it a bit
too quick,” Tuchel said.
“Sometimes these
things can turn against you but you make them when they need to be made, not
after when people can judge you.
“We gave
everything and it was a brilliant match. The disallowed goal for Romelu is a
very close call, there are bad feelings about this.”
It is a
difficult period for
Chelsea, whose Russian owner Roman Abramovich on Saturday
put the club in care of its trustees in response to claims in the UK Parliament
that oligarchs should be stripped of their assets following Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine.
Abramovich
remains Chelsea’s owner and Tuchel is hopeful the
European champions’
day-to-day routine will not be affected.
“Very confident
on a daily basis and how we handle things will not change,” he said.
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