Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk headed the winner deep into extra time as Jurgen Klopp’s massively depleted side beat Chelsea 1-0 to claim a record-extending 10th Carabao Cup.
The Dutch defender, who controversially had another header ruled out at the same end in the second half after VAR intervention, rose above Mykhailo Mudryk to nod in Kostas Tsimikas’ corner in the 118th minute.
It was no more than the Netherlands international, lifting his first trophy as Liverpool captain, deserved after a monumental performance in defence in a win that seemed against the odds for long periods.
Klopp became the third Liverpool manager to win the trophy more than once as his long goodbye before his departure at the end of the season began with the first of a potential four pieces of silverware.
But for opposite number Mauricio Pochettino his long wait for an English domestic trophy continues.
A Liverpool side already missing 11 first-teamers, including Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szobozslai, who did not pass late fitness tests, lost Ryan Gravenberch inside half-an-hour.
They had six players aged 21 or under on the bench – with Trey Nyoni only 16 – and three of them were on the pitch at the end of regulation time.
By contrast Chelsea’s recent billion-pound spending spree meant Trevoh Chalobah, on the bench, was their only player in the squad remaining from the 2022 final meeting.
The longer the game went on, the more it played into the Blues’ hands with their deeper squad resources and by the end of normal time, Liverpool’s team resembled one more befitting the third round of this competition than the final.
Pochettino had the luxury of bringing on Christopher Nkunku, Mudryk and Noni Madueke, acquired for a combined £171 million.
Had it not been for the heroics of Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Gallagher’s lack of composure in front of goal the game would have been over well before it was.
Chelsea were thankful for Chris Kavanagh’s generous interpretation of obstruction ruling out Van Dijk’s goal on the hour.
Liverpool’s captain was imperious and at times in the additional period it seemed he was the only thing holding back the blue tide, although the tireless Wataru Endo more than played his part in front of him.
Considering what they were facing late in the game, Chelsea’s midfield misfired badly while the forward line offered little in the way of a threat.
When Gallagher was not being denied by a post he either found Kelleher recreating his heroics of two years ago against them or was just plain wasteful.
Kelleher had produced a brilliant stop in the 20th minute when Cole Palmer blasted the ball at him from six yards, with Endo denying Nicolas Jackson’s follow-up.
Moises Caicedo’s tackle on Gravenberch on the touchline – which was not even called a foul – saw the Dutchman depart on a stretcher.
That forced a reshuffle, with Joe Gomez coming on at right-back and Conor Bradley moving into the forward line to replace Harvey Elliott, who dropped back into midfield.
That allowed Chelsea to seize the momentum but when former Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling turned home Jackson’s low cross the offside flag went up immediately.
Klopp’s side settled down and gained more control over their opponents’ more chaotic approach and Cody Gakpo directed a header against the post and Bradley had a goalbound shot blocked.
After the break Elliott’s volley was palmed away by Djordje Petrovic before Van Dijk powered home a header at the far post from Robertson’s free-kick.
However, VAR asked Kavanagh to go to the monitor to rule on an offside in Endo’s role in blocking Levi Colwill and he decided the centre-back would have had a chance of reaching Van Dijk.
The lack of a cool head continued to plague Chelsea and, after Axel Disasi missed a far-post volley from three yards, Gallagher hit the post with a cute close-range flick before being charged down by Kelleher with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Klopp sent on teenagers James McConnell and Jayden Danns and the latter almost had a dream introduction with his header tipped over.
Elliott’s header was somehow stopped on the line by Petrovic but he was powerless to deny the irresistible force of Van Dijk.
Van Dijk told Sky Sports afterwards: "It's incredible. It's emotion, it's everything. I am so proud of the boys. All of the young boys playing their part in what we achieved today, it's incredible and on to more.
“First trophy as Liverpool captain, it's all for the fans so let's enjoy it. You should always savour the good moments, this is definitely one of them.”
Liverpool manager Klopp said: "What happened here was absolutely insane, these things are not possible. The team, a squad, an academy full of character. I am so proud I could be part of that tonight.
"The craziest thing is we deserved it. We had lucky moments, they had lucky moments. The boys showed up, it was really cool.
"I am sure we brought on all the kids! We needed fresh legs, they were fresh but very young, but they did the job."
Chelsea boss Pochettino said: "We need to take positive things, need to push, use this type of game to learn and be better.
"I think we really competed if you don't score with chances we had it's difficult to win the final.
"That is why, we lost final we need to be clinical in front of goal and we congratulate Liverpool and keep going.
"The way you lose is so painful but now we need to keep going keep moving. They scored and we didn't score."
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS
Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chad%20Stahelski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Keanu%20Reeves%2C%20Laurence%20Fishburne%2C%20George%20Georgiou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
1 Man City 26 20 3 3 63 17 63
2 Liverpool 25 17 6 2 64 20 57
3 Chelsea 25 14 8 3 49 18 50
4 Man Utd 26 13 7 6 44 34 46
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5 West Ham 26 12 6 8 45 34 42
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6 Arsenal 23 13 3 7 36 26 42
7 Wolves 24 12 4 8 23 18 40
8 Tottenham 23 12 4 8 31 31 39