With a 1-0 victory after 120 minutes against Chelsea, Liverpool became the champion of the 2023-24 Carabao Cup. Van Dijk was the author of the only goal of the match.

Liverpool and Chelsea experienced a tense match at Wembley, the two teams could not decide the winner after 90 minutes so they had to play extra time. Liverpool played more effectively than the opponent and won 1-0 thanks to Van Dijk’s goal in the 118th minute.

Liverpool wins the 2023-24 Carabao Cup (Photo: EFL).

Liverpool is rated higher than Chelsea before the Carabao Cup final. Klopp’s army has flourished in the current season and is at the top of the Premier League, while Chelsea is performing up and down and is standing in the middle of the rankings. After the opening whistle, Liverpool actively controlled the ball and played offensively. 

However, Liverpool’s attacking style of play was not effective for a long time, and Chelsea also did not have good counterattacks in the first 30 minutes. In the 31st minute, Chelsea launched a quick counterattack. Sterling put the ball into Liverpool’s net, but the goal was not recognized because the referee caught Jackson offside.

Liverpool only played really impressively in the last minutes of the first half. In the 40th minute, Gakpo headed the ball in the center of the penalty area to the right corner. Goalkeeper Petrovic stood still and watched, but the goal post saved Chelsea.

Fernandez competes for the ball with Elliott (Photo: Getty).

In the second half, Chelsea attacked more aggressively and the two teams had tit-for-tat shots. In the 60th minute, Van Dijk headed Chelsea’s goal into the net after participating in a free kick taken by Robertson. However, VAR determined that the Liverpool player was offside so the goal was not recognized. 

Towards the end of the match, Chelsea created clear scoring opportunities. In the 85th minute, Palmer passed the ball smoothly for Gallagher to face goalkeeper Kelleher. Unfortunately, the Chelsea midfielder finished too gently in the face-off, the ball hit goalkeeper Kelleher and was blocked. 

Gallagher could not win against Kelleher in the face-off (Photo: Getty).

Minute 90+4, Chelsea had four consecutive shots inside the opponent’s penalty area, but the ball could not enter Liverpool’s net when goalkeeper Keller successfully blocked the ball twice, while the rest of his teammates His assist in blocking the ball.

After 90 minutes without scoring, the two teams entered extra time with great caution. Liverpool played better than Chelsea when they created clearer scoring opportunities than their opponents. After unsuccessful chances, Liverpool opened the score in the 118th minute.

Van Dijk celebrates after scoring the opening goal (Photo: Getty)

Van Dijk went up to take the corner, he moved and headed the ball into the net. This time the referee had no reason to deny the Liverpool captain a goal. Van Dijk’s late goal helped Liverpool win 1-0 and become Carabao Cup champions.

Squad

Chelsea : Petrovic, Chilwell (Chalobah, 113′), Disasi, Colwill, Gusto, Gallagher (Madueke, 90), Fernandez, Caicedo, Jackson (Mudryk, 90′), Palmer, Sterling (Nkunku, 67′).

Liverpool: Kelleher, Robertson (Tsimikas, 87′), van Dijk, Konate (Quansah, 106′), Bradley (Clark, 72′), Endo, Mac Allister (McConnell, 87′), Gravenberch (Gomez, 28′), Elliott, Diaz, Gakpo (Danns, 87′),