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It was a contest for the ages when Liverpool and Chelsea played in the EFL Cup 2022 Finals on Sunday. Both teams brought out their top performance to make the League Cup Final 2022 memorable. In a clash that went for 120 minutes, Liverpool found them on the winning side, thanks to Caoimhin Kelleher. The young goalie put on a show in front of the goal post stopping anything and everything that came his way.
Kelleher then etched a perfect penalty kick for his team and helped them lift their record ninth EFL title. But how did the game reach that stage? Well, some show-stopping performance from the goalkeepers of both teams and VAR helped to take the game beyond 120 minutes. While Kelleher was doing the job for Liverpool, it was Edouard Mendy on the charge for Chelsea.
Both the goalkeepers were at their level best, stopping every attempt from the opponent strikers. On the four occasions (twice each for both) when these two missed the ball, it was the VAR that disallowed the goals, resulting in a 0-0 score at the end of full-time as well as extra time. The four disallowed goals came from Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount, and Kai Havertz.
Liverpool win 11-10 in Penalty Kick out
The two-hour thriller then went into the penalty kick which also promised a thriller with both teams nailing the ten kicks. It all rolled down to the battle of two goalkeepers but there was a twist. Edouard Mendy, who was outstanding for Chelsea throughout the first 120 minutes, was replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga. With one chance to decide the winner, Kelleher held his nerves and managed to hit the back of the nets for Liverpool while Kepa skied his effort well over the bar to see the Reds going home with the title with a 11-10 win,
With Mendy performing all along and being replaced by Kepa just for the kick-out, there were questions raised on Thomas Tuchel's decision. But the Chelsea manager had an explanation for his decision. "I feel bad for him but no blame, of course," Tuchel said of Kepa. "Kepa simply has more time on the training ground [for penalties] than Edu, who plays a lot more. No regrets, I take the blame absolutely on me. I take the responsibility, of course," were his words.
