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Captain Van Dijk fires Liverpool to EFL Cup glory

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LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates scoring his teams first goal as he is filmed by the steady cam during the Carabao Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on February 25, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates scoring his teams first goal as he is filmed by the steady cam during the Carabao Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on February 25, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Liverpool were crowned 2023 Carabao Cup champions after defeating Chelsea 1-0 in extra-time on Sunday evening.

The Blues were unchanged from the side that started the 1-1 draw against Manchester City, while Reds manager Jurgen Klopp recalled Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate as Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez were unable to recover in time.

The Reds settled quicker of the two sides and went close to  pulling ahead on 14 minutes when Luis Diaz was denied by Blues goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic at the near post after Axel Disasi slipped and lost possession.

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was called into action at the other end a few minutes later, as he produced a wonderful save at point-blank range to deny Cole Palmer.

The Reds were dealt a blow on 28 minutes when Ryan Gravenberch was forced off with an injury after a late tackle from Moises Caicedo, which left Klopp unhappy on the touchline.

Chelsea thought they had taken the lead ten minutes before the break when Raheem Sterling finished off a cross from Nicolas Jackson, however the goal was ruled out for an offside on the latter.

Pochettino's men were a lot more dominant in the second period, with Jackson continuing cause problems with his pace down the respective flanks.

Liverpool rattled the back of the net just before the hour mark via the head of Virgil van Dijk but after a review on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor, it was chalked off for an offside on Wataru Endo in the build-up.

The woodwork came to the Reds' rescue with 12 minutes left on the clock as Conor Gallagher saw his sweeping finish hit the upright with Kelleher well beaten on the line.

The two sides showed no signs of slowing in extra-time, with both Kelleher and Petrovic producing some vital saves to keep it scoreless.

That all changed in the final two minutes of extra-time when Van Dijk sent a glancing header into the far corner, which sealed the trophy for Klopp's charges.

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