This is the most special trophy I have ever won. That's how Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described the first cup win of the 2023/24 season after the Merseysiders beat Chelsea 1-0 after extra time in the Carabao Cup final. Their captain Virgil van Dijk became a hero for the Reds, scoring with a header in the 118th minute of the match.
"What happened this afternoon is absolute madness. These things are not possible. It's incredible what happened. I am so proud to be a part of it. Wow. The crazy thing is, we deserved it. In some situations we got lucky, in others they got lucky. The match was very difficult – almost 150 minutes with extra time. I'm pretty sure when we got the kids into the game in extra time people were like, "That's it, they're giving the game away." It wasn't like that at all, we needed fresh legs. They were like that, but also very young. Everyone did amazing, I'm speechless", said the happy German, for whom it was his second triumph in the competition after 2022.
"This is the most special trophy I have ever won. Absolutely exceptional. I wish I felt pride more often, that's the feeling that prevails tonight. I don't care about the legacy I leave, I'm not here to create one, I'm here to do my job. We have learned so much in all these years. Every once in a while it's nice to have something to celebrate, that was so special", Klopp added.
His colleague at the helm of Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino, was disappointed by the loss. Chelsea had their chances, particularly in the second half, but Conor Gallagher's misses and Caoimhin Kelleher's great saves kept Liverpool in the game after a regular 90 minutes, where the Blues were not up to par and were eventually punished just before the penalties.
"It's always difficult to lose a final because you have the chances. It's one game. We lost in the last minute of the match. So painful. Now we have to take the positives to be better in the future. We were really competitive. I think we deserved more at certain moments of the match. But when you don't score with the chances you have - 5-6 clear chances - it's hard to win a final. You have to be effective in front of the opponent's goal. We congratulate Liverpool and move forward", said the Argentinian specialist, who also admitted that the tiredness of the Londoners' players led to the team's desire to seek penalties:
“Some of the players like Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell started to feel a lot of fatigue. We had to change them in overtime. The team started to think that penalties would be a good alternative for us. But we can't blame anyone, the effort was there. It's all about continuing to believe in this project. We didn't win the trophy but we're moving on", added Pochettino, who remains trophyless as manager in England. /BGNES
