Liverpool win League Cup over Chelsea 1-0 in extra time

A late strike by Virgil van Dijk in extra time saw Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0 in the League Cup on Sunday as the youngsters repaid Jurgen Klopp's faith in them and made him proud.

The injury-hit Reds are going through a tough time missing Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, goalkeeper Alisson and Curtis Jones, key forwards Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai on the field, joined by Ryan Gravenberch on Sunday in the 28th minute after sustaining an ankle injury.

Klopp, who announced earlier this month that this would be his farewell season with the Premier League leaders, started the game with 20-year-olds Conor Bradley and Harvey Elliott in the lineup and later brought on 19-year-olds James McConnell and Bobby Clark and 18-year-old Jayden Danns, before also throwing in 21-year-old Jarell Quansah off the bench, and the group with barely a handful of first-team appearances did not disappoint.

"I got told outside that you don't win trophies with kids. Write it new. In my more than 20 years (as a manager), this is easily the most special trophy I have ever won," said Klopp.

"Sometimes I get asked if I am proud of this or that. I wish I could feel pride more often, but I was proud of absolutely everything today.

"Seeing the faces of the kids after the game, Jayden Danns, can you create stories in football that nobody would ever forget - this tonight if you find the same story with academy players coming on against a top, top side, and winning it, that's how we do it," he added.

Both sides had chances in the first 90 minutes but were either ruled offside or lacking a bit of luck as the ball hit the post. Raheem Sterling's first-half effort for Chelsea was canceled out because Nicolas Jackson was offside in the build-up, and Van Dijk's second-half header was disallowed for an infringement by Wataru Endo. Both Liverpool's Cody Gakpo and Chelsea's Conor Gallagher's attempts hit the post.

Dutch veteran Van Dijk eventually rose to meet a corner in the 118th minute and nodded home in front of cheering Liverpool fans.

It was the third Cup victory for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool over Chelsea in two years, with the Reds winning the League and FA Cups in 2022 after goalless draws and penalty shootouts.

"You saw the circumstances; we had problems before the game. They became bigger during the game. Tonight is a night I will never forget, and if nobody else sees it like that, no problem. For me, it's a really nice memory forever," said Klopp.

(With input from Reuters)