LONDON – Jurgen Klopp is still on course for a magical farewell tour as Liverpool manager and can thank the club's next generation for helping his injury-hit team over the line in a 1-0 win at Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
Virgil van Dijk's 118th-minute goal, a header from a Kostas Tsimikas corner, secured Liverpool's 10th EFL Cup and consigned Chelsea to a sixth consecutive defeat, the last three coming against Klopp's team. But while captain Van Dijk will grab the headlines, it was the contribution of Liverpool's young stars that made the difference at Wembley, when Klopp had to rely on unproven players due to a growing injury crisis which, at the end of this match , had grown. 11 first team players.
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Only the most ardent Liverpool fan will know much about Jayden Danns, James McConnell and Bobby Clark ahead of their substitute appearances against Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea. Danns, 18, made his senior debut as a late substitute in last Wednesday's 4-1 Premier League win against Luton Town at Anfield, while Clark (19) was making just his ninth senior appearance and McConnell (19 ) his seventh. Incredibly, each of the three teenagers can now boast having won a major trophy before reaching double figures in terms of first-team appearances.
“What happened here was crazy, these things are not possible,” Klopp said. “The team, a squad, an academy full of character. I'm very proud to be able to be part of that tonight.
“The craziest thing is that we deserved it. We had lucky moments, they had lucky moments. The guys showed up, it was really great. We needed fresh legs, they were fresh but very young, but they got the job done.”
With Klopp announcing that he will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season, almost nine years after taking charge at Anfield, it is perhaps fitting that the club's future has played such an important role in the first of four potential trophies. in his last campaign. Conor Bradley and Harvey Elliott, both 20, started the match and were also hugely influential in Liverpool's victory. But the presence of emerging talent was mainly due to necessity and not because Klopp simply gave them a chance to shine. And if they want to stay on track for three more trophies to see off Klopp with a quadruple, the youngsters will have to step up again.
“When you're younger and you get an opportunity, you have to grab it with both hands,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports after the match. “They should take advantage of this to move forward and I'm sure they will. They should keep pushing to get closer to the first team and be part of the squad. Being part of this when you're a teenager only benefits you.”
Liverpool now face a crucial two-week period that could define their season and they go into it with a full squad of senior players unavailable to Klopp.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joël Matip are injured. Ryan Gravenberch joins fellow midfielders Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Dominik Szoboszlai on the bench after suffering an ankle injury following a first-half tackle by Moisés Caicedo in this game. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez were absent from the forward line at Wembley.
There is little chance of any of the above returning in time to face Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round tie on Wednesday and it is safe to assume that Klopp will not risk any of his senior stars (fit or close to be fit) in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg against Sparta Prague on 7 March. Part of the Wembley squad could also miss out against Southampton due to the strain of playing 120 minutes against Chelsea.
“Wataru Endo, oh my God,” Klopp said. “He walked through the ceremony with the stiffest legs he had ever seen!”
Any of the injured players who do not return to action for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League next Saturday face a race against time to feature in the potential decider against Manchester City at Anfield on March 10. It is a testament to the energy and spirit that Klopp injects into his teams that Liverpool beat a much stronger Chelsea side to win the cup, but youngsters tend to suffer inconsistency when they reach the first team, and maintain the performances they produced. at Wembley is by no means guaranteed. So can they hold down the fort and keep the team winning until the big boys return?
That is the challenge facing Klopp as he tries to keep Liverpool in the three remaining competitions: FA Cup, Europa League and Premier League. Liverpool certainly rolled with the punches against Chelsea. Both teams had goals disallowed for offside, Liverpool's by the VAR, and both whistles were very tight; Liverpool hit the post twice, through Cody Gakpo and Elliott, and Conor Gallagher hit the foot of Liverpool's post late in the second half.
With Pochettino ending the match with a £180m forward line of Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer, Chelsea really should have taken advantage of the inexperience and fatigue in Liverpool's ranks.
But with substitute goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher making a series of world-class saves, Liverpool somehow held on until Van Dijk scored the winner two minutes before the end of extra time. Some teams would have already been out of the game at that point, but Klopp's Liverpool are one of those teams that are never beaten while there is still time on the clock.
Even when kids replace older stars, the result is the same and that's down to Klopp. But the next two weeks will be huge and the youngsters will have to do it again and again to keep the quadruple dream alive.
