Liverpool have kicked off Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour at the club in the best way by lifting the Carabao Cup.
The Reds were involved in an enthralling clash with Chelsea that had seen goals ruled out for Raheem Sterling and Virgil van Dijk. Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo was also somewhat fortunate to avoid a red card after a crunching challenge on Liverpool star Ryan Gravenberch.
The Reds were also indebted to goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher after he produced a number of stunning stops to deny Chelsea at Wembley. In the end, Van Dijk scored the decisive goal in extra-time to secure the cup for the Reds.
The celebrations have been continuing both in the capital and on Merseyside ever since. Take at all of the reaction from Wembley and Anfield below:
Redknapp slams “disgusting” challenge
Jamie Redknapp claimed Jurgen Klopp’s furious reaction to Caicedo’s challenge on Gravenberch was justified. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool star said: “It’s not a great challenge, it’s extremely clumsy.
“I think it always is worse when a player’s foot is planted. You can see here, as Gravenberch makes the challenge, his foot is planted. It looks disgusting.
“You can see here, Caicedo is not looking where the ball is going. You can see why he [Gravenberch] comes off. It’s definitely a yellow card. I can see why Jurgen Klopp was so upset and disappointed with it.”
Caicedo escaped with only a warning from the referee. Recipient Gravenberch was forced off the pitch on a stretcher and was replaced by Joe Gomez.
Ryan Gravenberch was stretchered off after Moises Caicedo’s tackle (
Getty Images)
Salah agrees with Klopp
On the topic of Caicedo’s challenge on Gravenberch, stricken Liverpool star Mo Salah also gave his response. Left on the sidelines due to injury, he reacted to the challenge by shouting at the officials, appealing to his fellow Reds stars and shaking his head.
Salah’s reaction came after Klopp’s own response to Caicedo’s tackle. The German was left visibly annoyed by the challenge, and was pictured in a heated debate with the officials.
Cup prize money confirmed
Liverpool have banked just around £100,000 for beating Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, while the Blues have walked away with a £50k prize pot of their own. Despite that, the Reds could be aiming to add to that amount throughout the remainder of the season.
The winner of the Premier League will take home around £100m, while this season’s FA Cup victors will bank a pay cheque of around £4m.
