When Liverpool won the decisive corner late in extra time, Jurgen Klopp applauded and found himself smiling at all the romance. Depleted by numerous injuries and picking up more here, with other players running up in smoke, the manager had introduced a group of untested young players. But his team was here fighting until their last breath. It was Liverpool who found the goal and the net in the extra time.
Klopp’s screenwriter had one thing left; A detail that will fuel his quest to collect four more trophies before riding off into the sunset at the end of the season. Substitute Kostas Tsimikas headed over the strike and Virgil van Dijk turned away from Axel Disasi to head home. The Liverpool captain had seen his header canceled out on the hour after lengthy VAR intervention. In this case, it would not be possible to deny him or his team.
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Klopp’s smile now had meaning and with the final whistle of the match, the celebrations would become quite crazy, and the punches he threw at the Liverpool fans would be full of emotion. Photographers got the shot they wanted with Klopp and Van Dijk lifting the trophy together, and a scene of Klopp, all Liverpool players and the entire staff swaying in single file with their arms around each other quickly went viral. You will never Walk alone.
The other half of the stadium was already empty. It was Mauricio Pochettino with red eyes; he and Chelsea have bitter regrets. The Chelsea manager had watched his side bounce back from a nervy start and they had a chance of winning in normal time. It was Chelsea who took action after Van Dijk’s disallowed header.
Conor Gallagher didn’t deserve to be on the losing team, but he didn’t act cool when he should have. It won’t be a victory to ignite the Pochettino era and he is still searching for his first successes in English football. The £1bn transfer spend by the club’s Todd Boehly-led ownership did not yield any initial returns. The truth is that Chelsea fell apart in extra time.
What will happen to them now? Since Roman Abramovich’s takeover, they have not gone two consecutive seasons without a trophy, but that will be their fate if they fail to win the FA Cup. One of the problems for them is that Liverpool are still in this team.
It was a riveting event where the modern history between the clubs came to light; Epic knockout matches in the Champions League in the mid-to-late 2000s and the previous four finals. Also when team news is huge, especially from Liverpool’s perspective.
Klopp counted 11 missing players, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez. He would lose Ryan Gravenberch midway through the first half of normal time after a poor challenge from Moisés Caicedo; The midfielder would reappear on crutches for the celebrations, wearing a protective boot. Wataru Endo also left Wembley on crutches and a boot, damaging his ankle.
It was an event enlivened by the contributions of Liverpool academy players. Conor Bradley was fearless from the start, first at right-back, then in midfield, and Klopp would finish the match with Bobby Clark and James McConnell in 8th and Jayden Danns in 9th. Jarell Quansah also took part in the middle of the defense.
Chelsea measured the opening 20 minutes with slides, loose touches and passes; There are also hopeless fouls. But they announced their entry into the contest after Gallagher crossed low and Cole Palmer was denied by Caoimhín Kelleher’s superb save.
It was fun, full of events. VAR technology was used for the first time in this season’s competition and Caicedo was lucky not to suggest any action after making his mark on Gravenberch. Chelsea were a hair’s breadth away from taking the lead on the half hour, with Nicolas Jackson setting up Raheem Sterling to clear the ball but the striker appeared to move too early on a Palmer pass. Liverpool had their chances before normal time, thanks in particular to the relentless Luis Díaz. He made two early moves and pinned Bradley in the 45th minute, with Levi Colwill making a great block. Moments earlier, Cody Gakpo had risen to meet Andy Robertson’s cross but his header hit the post.
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Chelsea was generous. Enzo Fernández ignored a well-positioned Palmer in the 53rd minute to try a come-from-behind finish, and after Van Dijk’s disallowed goal, they really upped the ante on their wastefulness. Disasi found himself in a tangle when placed magnificently and Gallagher tapped a Palmer cross to the far post and struck one-on-one with Kelleher. There were other moments too.
Liverpool thought they had broken the deadlock when Van Dijk headed home Robertson’s free-kick. However, VAR would detect that Endo had cleared Colwill from an offside position. Colwill was part of the marking detail for Van Dijk.
Liverpool’s determination in extra time was outstanding. Danns, who had only played a few minutes of first-team football before this, almost caught out Djordje Petrovic with a header and the Chelsea goalkeeper somehow stopped Harvey Elliott’s header in the 115th minute. Punishments seemed inevitable. Enter Van Dijk.