Virgil van Dijk headed in Liverpool's extra-time winner to condemn Chelsea to a record sixth straight domestic cup final defeat; Mauricio Pochettino's side missed several big opportunities against youthful Reds
Monday 26 February 2024 17:39, UK
Liverpool lifted the Carabao Cup on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Chelsea.
Virgil van Dijk headed a 118th-minute winner at Wembley, guaranteeing Jurgen Klopp at least one piece of silverware for the club in his swansong season, but it took a long time to get there in a topsy-turvy encounter that somehow stayed goalless for nearly the duration at Wembley.
Here are five stats from the game you might have missed...
All the talk has been about Liverpool 2.0 and, amid an injury crisis, Klopp fielded Jayden Danns (18), Bobby Clark and James McConnell (both 19) - the most teenagers to appear in a League Cup final team for 17 years.
Indeed, Danns - at 18 years and 40 days - became the youngest player to appear for Liverpool in a League Cup final.
In terms of starters, Liverpool handed berths to Conor Bradley, Harvey Elliott (both 20) and Ryan Gravenberch (21) - the first time Liverpool have started three U21 players in a major cup final in the club's history.
Despite that, several experienced players such as Van Dijk (32), Wataru Endo (31) and Andy Roberston (29) raised the Reds' average age to 25 years and 300 days - two years older than that of Chelsea's starting XI.
The Blues did not start a single teenager either, but only Raheem Sterling (29) and Ben Chilwell (27) were older than 25 - meaning Mauricio Pochettino's side weighed in with an average of just 23 years and 314 days.
"Oh my goodness me - there is someone looking down on Liverpool who has kept this 0-0!" Those were the words of Gary Neville on commentary during the game.
Indeed, the match should have produced 4.06 goals, according to expected goals (xG). Broken down, Chelsea recorded the lion's share of that total with 2.28 xG, which is the highest goalless tally in a Carabao Cup final since our League Cup xG stats began in 2018.
The second team on that list? It's Chelsea, again, when they clocked 1.83 xG against Klopp's side in the 2022 Carabao Cup final - a game that finished in a goalless stalemate after extra-time with the Reds winning 11-10 on penalties.
Liverpool clocked 24 shots, which is the second-highest tally in a League Cup final since our records began in 2011. The only team to surpass that figure? Liverpool against Cardiff in 2012.
Chelsea clocked 19 attempts without a goal. The only finalist to have that many shots or more and failed to score since 2011? Liverpool, against the Blues two years ago.
It was the 11th time this season Chelsea have gone in at half-time with a 0-0 scoreline - among all Premier League sides, only Everton (14) have had more goalless first halves across all competitions.
Chelsea have spent over £1bn on transfers since Todd Boehly bought the club in the summer of 2022 - smashing the all-time spending record in three windows running.
In terms of the starting line-ups on Sunday, the Blues weighed in at £472.9m, which included two nine-figure players in Moises Caicedo (£115m) and Enzo Fernandez (£106.8m) - considerably more than Liverpool's £323.2m price tag.
The Reds' most expensive starter was Van Dijk (£75m), followed by Alex Mac Allister (£55m), Luis Diaz (£49m) and Cody Gakpo (£45m).
Liverpool attempted 689 passes, compared with Chelsea's 587, but Klopp's side were notably more careful with the ball - with a passing accuracy of 84 per cent, compared to Chelsea's 79.7 per cent.
Breaking that down to recognised midfielders, Liverpool were again more precise - with a passing accuracy of 87.9 per cent, compared to Chelsea's 84.7 per cent.
The contrast between Enzo Fernandez's accuracy (76.7 per cent) and Wataru Endo's (91.2 per cent) is notably stark - albeit the former attempted 90 passes, which was 22 more than the Japan international.
"(Moises) Caicedo is incredibly clumsy with a lot of the challenges he puts in," said Jamie Carragher on co-comms during the final - but the Ecuadorian escaped any punishment from referee Chris Kavanagh.
The Chelsea midfielder appeared to get off lightly after making three notable fouls without a booking, with team-mates Nicolas Jackson and Conor Gallagher also making three fouls without caution, along with Liverpool's Luis Diaz.
Liverpool ended the game with five bookings from 21 fouls, compared with Chelsea's two yellows from 14 fouls.
Those numbers for Chelsea contrast greatly against their campaign to date, having picked up 91 bookings across all competitions - only Aston Villa (93) have received more yellows among Premier League sides.
Gary Neville described Chelsea as "blue billion-pound bottlejobs" after the game.
"In extra-time it's been Klopp's kids against the blue, billion-pound bottlejobs," said Neville.
Already deprived of Trent-Alexander Arnold, Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez, Liverpool won the final with a host of youngsters on the pitch after 19-year-olds James McConnell and Bobby Clark as well as Harvey Elliott (20) and Jarell Quansah (21) were thrown into the fray. Conor Bradley (20) had started the final in defence.
In contrast, Chelsea fielded Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - both of whom cost over £100m - in the centre of their midfield. Raheem Sterling (£50m) was in attack, while Mykhailo Mudryk, who cost £88.5m, and £52m Christopher Nkunku stepped off the bench.
Todd Boehly has spent over £1bn on players since taking charge of the club in the summer of 2022.
"Liverpool have been absolutely sensational," added Neville. "Those young players have been incredible. Klopp must be so proud.
"However, for Chelsea, I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. Mauricio Pochettino's players have shrunk. They have shrunk right in front of our eyes and in front of their fans."
