Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool ‘needed luck’ as Reds claim Carabao Cup in dramatic shootout
- Planet Sport writer
- 27 February 2022
Caoimhin Kelleher won the battle of the second-choice goalkeepers against Kepa Arrizabalaga as Liverpool claimed a record ninth League Cup after an incredible penalty shootout.
The Irishman scored the decisive kick, with his opposite number - sent on specifically for the shootout - blazing over as the spot-kicks finished 11-10 after 21 of 22 efforts were perfectly dispatched.
In a thrilling and absorbing Carabao Cup final at Wembley, both sides had goals ruled out for offside in normal time.
Extra time could not settle the result and it ultimately came down to the goalkeepers, but not in the way usually imagined in a shootout, as Kelleher - who started after manager Jurgen Klopp kept faith with him for cup competitions - was successful from the spot and Kepa, who had barely touched the ball after coming on, was not.
Jurgen Klopp admitted he would have preferred a less dramatic finale saying: "I am fine now, obviously but I would have been fine with 90 minutes and 1-0 to Liverpool and we go home. But it was exciting and I am happy for the people.
"Chelsea are incredibly strong, we matched each other and both teams were knackered at the end."
Looking ahead to the rest of the campaign, Klopp added: "This is the start. We are not silly. You need luck, we needed luck tonight.
"We have to survive, work hard and, we have to play on Wednesday again, which I cannot believe at this moment. But Anfield will be rocking because of this result and hopefully we can deliver a game to enjoy."
When asked about the match winning hero Kelleher, Klopp admitted it would have been a cold-hearted decision not to start the normally second-choice goalkeeper.
He said: "In professional football there should be space for sentiment. He is a young boy, we ask him to do a lot, he starts playing in the competition and then we get to the final and I tell him he cannot play?
"I am two things, a football manager and a human being and the human being won this time and it is so nice that it paid off. He deserves it."
