Once again, Chelsea and Liverpool fought out a cagey, tight and controversial Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
Previously, the two teams have played out goalless draws that have gone to penalties, with the ball just not wanting to go into the back of the net.
History was repeating itself until Virgil van Dijk scored the eventual winning goal in extra time, as Liverpool’s young kids embarrassed Chelsea’s £1bn machine.
But it didn’t come without its controversy because the game could have been very different if Moises Caicedo had been sent off in the first half, it probably should have been done, in Liverpool’s favour, a lot earlier.
The Chelsea midfielder caught the ankle of Ryan Gravenberch, who had to go off on a stretcher, with many arguing about whether he should have seen red.
Richard Keys was adamant that the big-money summer signing should have gone, how it was a ‘triple red’, a ‘horrible’ tackle and the officiating in today’s game is ’scary’.
But his partner in crime, Andy Gray disagreed and thought the right call was made to keep Moises Caiceedo on the pitch, as he told beIN SPORTS (25/02/24 at 3:55 pm).
That wasn’t the only talking point during the game because Virgil van Dijk saw his headed goal from a dead ball situation controversially ruled out for offside in normal time.
You can bet your bottom dollar that if those on Merseyside had lost, then all of this would have hit the headlines.
But this was just part of the debate that raged between Richard Keys and Andy Gray about that Moises Caicedo challenge.
Should Moises Caicedo have been sent off for Chelsea?
“When I think it happened, I didn’t think much of it,” said Gray. “Caicedo doesn’t get off his feet. He doesn’t, in my opinion, make a tackle as such.
“Of course, he (Klopp) is going to be furious, he is the Liverpool manager. When you see it like this (in slow motion), then it looks dreadful. Now you can get injured without it being a deliberate attempt.”
Richard Keys responded: “It doesn’t matter if it’s deliberate. Is he endangering the player’s safety? I think we have the answer. That’s a shocker. Is it worse? (than Harry Maguire’s v Fulham), yes, I think it is.”
Gray added: “I tell you what they should have done, and the same at Old Trafford yesterday, is said to the referee ‘Go and have a look at it’.”
RK: “He could have broken his ankle. This is a different era. You can’t do that anymore. It’s red, double red, treble red. It’s horrible – I don’t like to even look at it, it’s so bad. It’s horrible. I can’t understand, at a minimum, how he doesn’t look at that – I can’t just get my head around how inadequate these officials currently are, it’s scary.”
Liverpool’s young guns shine on the Wembley stage
What a performance from this Liverpool team and what a job Jurgen Klopp has done at the club ahead of his summer exit.
The fact that the Reds were forced to play so many young players, and so many teenagers were on the pitch for extra time, yet they came out on top is remarkable.
It’s a testament to the way Klopp has built a winning culture at the club and the absolute shambles of Chelsea.
The Anfield faithful, who have the chance to win four trophies this season, will now really believe they can win the lot because something special has to stop them.
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