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Not all defeats are created equal – and no defeat in football is worse than a joke.
“In extra time, Klopp’s kids are up against blue billion-pound bottle jobs,” said Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville, leading the narrative of an unreal Carabao Cup final as he glanced over Virgil van Dijk’s header. Briefly and indisputably established. Djordje Petrovic had settled into the far corner of the net.
Not only did Liverpool beat Chelsea at Wembley (again), they did so in a way that reflected the “mentality monster” culture that Jurgen Klopp has developed – evident across all age groups at Kirkby as well as the first team. Also in – nine years mercilessly exposing the fatal flaws in the lavish investment project in Stamford Bridge funded by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital over the last two years.
In the Wembley interior after the match, a frustrated Mauricio Pochettino tiredly tried to point out nuances in the story. When asked about Neville’s line, the Chelsea head coach said, “I didn’t hear what he said, but if you compare the ages of the two groups, I think it’s similar.” “Look, I have a good relationship with Gary. I don’t know how I can take his opinion, but I respect his opinion.
“We are a young team. There is nothing to compare with Liverpool as they also finished with young players. It’s impossible to compare, and he knows the dynamics are completely different. We were playing Liverpool and Chelsea, Chelsea and Liverpool and I don’t think it’s fair to speak like that.”
The dynamic of youth versus experience at Wembley was not as clear-cut as Neville had made it out to be. The average age of Liverpool’s on-pitch XI at the start of the match and the beginning of extra time was higher than Chelsea’s. The 32-year-old Van Dijk, who now has 11 major trophies to his name, was excellent throughout the outfield and found the net with two headers worthy of winning the final, only one of which survived a VAR review.
Caoimhin Kelleher refutes Cole Palmer (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
But the defense becomes harder to maintain when the other team includes two 19-year-olds, Bobby Clarke and James McConnell, each of whom has played less than 10 professional games and another (Jayden Danes) who is making his second senior appearance. was making. Chelsea undoubtedly lost out on many children; The more important question is: Did they bottle it?
Chelsea showed unmistakable signs of nervousness at Wembley. Axel Disassi ignited Liverpool’s transition attacks by lobbing the ball twice under little pressure. Malo gusto, usually with such determined, controlled passes that on many occasions he went straight out of play. Levi Colville attempted a pass out to Ben Chilwell miles upfield and was told to calm down by Enzo Fernandez, who played a sloppy pass with shocking frequency.
Furthermore, Conor Gallagher wrestled with a similar cocktail of bad luck and poor patience in front of goal that afflicted fellow Cobham graduate Mason Mount against the same opponents at the same stadium in 2022.
Gallagher missed many chances (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Yet, as the clock ticked towards the end of the 90 minutes, Chelsea looked the likely winners, with Cole Palmer picking apart a Liverpool side who was left with a sore foot. It was at this point that Klopp made a decision that probably no other elite coach would have taken: placing the fate of a major trophy in the hands of unproven youth rather than fall back on experience and play for penalties.
His choice turned this Carabao Cup final into a spiritual sequel to Chelsea’s bizarre 4-1 win over nine-man Tottenham Hotspur in November: a situation where a solid win is the only acceptable result and anything less is a complete disaster. Brings insult from. Pochettino had to guide his team through 20 nervous, aimless minutes that night before they overcame the fear of looking ridiculous – the fear of facing a mocking defeat – and managed to win the game.
Klopp’s own “It’s just who we are, mate” moment plunged Chelsea into a similar mental crisis at Wembley, which lasted most of extra-time due to their fading energy levels. Their pitifully makeshift performance at half-time in the extra period saw Chilwell, Disassi and Moises Caiced receive attention for cramping on the pitch.
Chelsea’s top priority is not losing rather than winning. “The team is starting to think that maybe a penalty would be good for us,” Pochettino said. He also admitted that there was acrimony between him and this group of players.
Pochettino’s face reveals Chelsea’s mood (Getty Images)
The finals define the clubs, players and coaches who compete in them. Klopp has lost his fair share over the years, but never through passivity, and a steadfast commitment to the idea of what day takes Liverpool to Wembley. Chelsea’s identity as specialist winners of finals began to wane in the final years of Roman Abramovich’s ownership; This is now seven cup final defeats in their last eight visits to the national stadium, and six in a row.
Doubts about Pochettino’s ability to reverse that trend will deepen. In five years at Tottenham, he created impressive teams that fell just short of winning and, despite his stated emphasis on the power of positive energy, his callow Chelsea were destroyed by Klopp’s peerless mastery of psychological speed.
Liverpool are vastly superior to Chelsea at full strength, but they won the Carabao Cup final not because of superior talent, but with a superior mentality, along with an unmistakable sense of identity that binds the first team and academy together – in other words. In Bohli and Clearlake, things cannot be easily purchased with money.
“They need to feel the pain,” Pochettino said of his Chelsea players. It will be difficult to overcome the pain of the loss of this joke, immortalized by Neville’s cruel words.
(Top image: Pochettino’s changes were not as effective as Klopp’s. Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
