(Football news) Liverpool defeated Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final 11-10 on penalties with Kepa Arrizabalaga missing the decisive kick from the spot. Tuchel introduced the Spanish goalkeeper in the final minute of extra-time but Arrizabalga didn’t manage to save a single shot and couldn’t hit the target on his turn after a goalless 120 minutes between the two sides. The result means that Liverpool have now won their first League Cup since 2012 and are now the most successful team in the competition with 9 victories. 

Tuchel dropped Romelu Lukaku to the bench for this fixture alongside Reece James who recently recovered from an injury. Mason Mount and Edouard Mendy featured in the starting lineup while for Liverpool, Caoimhin Kelleher started in goal and Jordan Henderson featured in the starting XI. Thiago Alcantara was withdrawn during the warm up and replaced by Naby Keita and Diogo Jota took his place on the bench after recovering from an injury. 

Despite Liverpool’s dominance, it was Chelsea who created the better opportunities as Christian Pulisic was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher while Mason Mount had two good opportunities to score but lacked the composure to apply the finishing touches. It does make one wonder if the result would have been different if Thomas Tuchel would have selected Romelu Lukaku as the Belgian has always been prolific in front of goal and could have capitalised on the opportunities. 

Liverpool also had the opportunity to find the breakthrough, only to be denied by a fantastic double save by Edouard Mendy. The Senegalese goalkeeper denied Naby Keita’s shot from the edge of the box and then diverted Sadio Mane’s effort from point blank range over the bar with lightning fast reflexes. The Reds almost took the lead through a smart freekick routine which ended with Mane setting up Joel Matip but the VAR check ruled the goal out as Virgil van Dijk was impeding Reece James during the buildup from an offside position.

Lukaku was finally introduced and the Belgian found the back of the net from a Trevoh Chalobah pass but VAR intervened and ruled him offside. Chelsea found the back of the net yet again in the second half of extra time through Kai Havertz but the offside flag was raised once again. The match eventually went to penalty shootouts and Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga couldn’t make a single save while also shooting over the bar for his effort, resulting in Liverpool lifting the Carabao Cup.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said: "We feel bad for him [Kepa], of course. It was a bit harsh that he was the guy to miss the one and only penalty but there is no blame. I take the decisions when I take the decisions and I can't re-judge them when I know the outcome. We don't know what would've happened if we left Mendy on the pitch. No blame on Kepa. Blame on me as I'm the guy who takes the decisions. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. This is life as a football coach."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “Alisson Becker is the best goalkeeper in the world for me, but Kelleher is the best No 2 in the world, especially for the way we play. He had an incredible game. The life of a No 2 goalkeeper is you have to be ready when called. I can remember at least two incredible saves, probably a few more. He proved that the decision to play him was absolutely right, and then in a spectacular shoot-out he showed the whole range of his skill-set. He was top class."

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