VAN DIJK SEALS CARABAO CUP GLORY FOR LIVERPOOL

In a season that seems written in the stars for Liverpool to succeed in Jurgen Klopp’s ‘Last Dance’, it took a last-minute header from Virgil Van Dijk to give Liverpool the shot for a quadruple as they sealed a Carabao Cup Final victory at Wembley on Sunday night.

Coming into this game, only two players from the current Chelsea team were part of the losing side that lost the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool just two seasons ago. However, Jurgen Klopp was not shy to field a host of academy graduates due to his club’s extensive injury list that added the name of Ryan Gravenberch to the list as he was stretched off the field in first stanza of the game following a challenge from Moises Caicedo, who has now been on the losing side for the second time against Liverpool since declining a move to join the Merseyside club.

Conor Bradley was a revelation once again for Jurgen Klopp and was trusted up front to form part of the front three consisting of Luiz Diaz and Cody Gakpo. More youngsters were thrown into the mix as Klopp ran out of familiar options on the bench. Bobby Clarke, Jayden Danns and James McConnell joined other academy graduates including Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley and Jarrell Quansah on the list of trusted graduates by the German tactician as they were fielded in the Wembley Cup final.

The Carabao Cup glory will be warmly welcomed to the city of Liverpool following a tough 2022/23 season that saw Klopp’s men finish outside of the Champions League spots for the first time since his first full season. However, it’s clear that it wouldn’t be deemed ‘enough’ for a befitting send off for Klopp as he prepares to leave Anfield at the end of the season.

Liverpool currently sit top of the Premier League standings and find themselves in the Round of 32 of the Europa League and the Round of 16 of the FA Cup. Their next encounter is against Southampton in an FA Cup fixture that’s set to be staged at Anfield on Wednesday night.