Liverpool secured a significant victory as Virgil Van Dijk’s extra-time goal propelled them to a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
The intense match, marked by VAR disallowing goals for both teams, remained goalless after 90 minutes before Van Dijk’s decisive header in extra time.
Despite missing 10 first-team players, including Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez, Liverpool displayed resilience cheered on by their passionate supporters, ultimately triumphing over Chelsea.
This victory keeps Liverpool’s aspirations of a quadruple alive and adds another Carabao Cup title to their record, marking their 10th win in the competition.
Although Chelsea began the final hesitantly, they nearly seized the lead through Cole Palmer’s 21st-minute shot, brilliantly saved by Liverpool’s goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. Liverpool faced further setbacks when Ryan Gravenberch was substituted for Joe Gomez in the 28th minute due to a tough challenge from Moisés Caicedo on the German international.
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Raheem Sterling thought he had given Chelsea the lead in the 31st minute, but the assistant referee ruled it out for offside, judging Nicolas Jackson to have strayed offside moments earlier.
Liverpool also came close to scoring when Gakpo’s header from Andy Robertson’s cross hit the post, leaving Djordje Petrovic rooted to the spot.
Van Dijk seemed to have scored for Liverpool with a powerful header from a Robertson free-kick at the hour-mark, but VAR disallowed the goal due to Wataru Endo being offside.
Chelsea responded strongly, with Connor Gallagher hitting the post in the 77th minute after a pass from Palmer. They had another chance in the 85th minute, but Gallagher’s shot was saved by Kelleher.
Liverpool’s limited options on the bench were evident with late substitutions, including teenagers James McConnell and Jayden Danns replacing Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo.
Danns, who made his Liverpool debut recently, almost scored in extra time but had his header saved by Petrovic.
Liverpool continued to push for a goal, with Harvey Elliott’s header well saved by Petrovic.
The winning goal came from Van Dijk, whose powerful header from a corner deep in extra time secured victory for Liverpool.
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