Fans react as Liverpool defeat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on penalties
Taking to Twitter, Chelsea fans expressed their disappointment as the Blues lost out to Liverpool on penalties in the final of the Carabao Cup. The game saw a penalty shootout that ended 11-10 in favour of the Reds.
In a game that saw goals ruled out for both teams at the end of 120 minutes, it took penalties to settle the league cup final. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel sent on keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in place of Edouard Mendy to make sure they come through the shootout as winners, but the decision backfired horribly as the Spaniard was the only player to miss his spot-kick in the shootouts.
Wembley Stadium saw a thrilling final that saw plenty of attacking action from both finalists, as Liverpool and Chelsea forwards both found the back of the net, only for all of them to be ruled out. Chelsea in particular had a hat-trick of goals ruled out due to offside, as the Stamford Bridge side eventually lost the summit clash in heart-breaking fashion.
After playing the rest of the Carabao Cup campaign, Kepa was dropped in the summit clash for Chelsea number 1 Mendy by Tuchel. The decision was a bold one to make by the German, especially given Kepa’s great form in the league cup, but in the end, the keeper turned into the villain as he skied his penalty when it mattered most and could not save a single goal in the penalty shootout.
Penalty shootout loss
With this, Tuchel has now lost his second final as manager of Chelsea, after previously taking the club to the Champions League, Super Cup, and Club World Cup. He managed to win the Super Cup by sending on Kepa for Mendy for the penalty shootout to decide the match, but the former Borussia Dortmund manager could not repeat the same trick tonight.
Mendy was outstanding in the game, especially after pulling off a double save against Naby Keita and Sadio Mane in the normal 90 minutes of the final. The loss will now see fingers pointed at Tuchel for taking off the Senegal international and replacing him with Kepa, but the manager will have his own reasons for doing so.
Chelsea now head back to Stamford Bridge with a heavy heart, after doing so well in the game to threaten the opposition. Their offside goals will come back to haunt them, as will their misses in the match as Mason Mount was played through one on one against the Liverpool keeper, only for the Englishman to strike the post from close range.
While Tuchel opted to play his first-choice goalkeeper in the final, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp preferred to stay with his deputy keeper in Caoimhin Kelleher as the Reds won an early trophy this season. With this, Klopp will hope that his team have renewed energy to head back into the Premier League and chase down Manchester City for the league title.
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After 120 minutes of action, Chelsea fans had to sit through a nervy penalty shootout, in the end, to see their side narrowly miss out on yet another trophy in 2022, after winning the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi last month. Tuchel was unable to continue his winning run in finals with the Blues, as Klopp’s men stood in his way and broke his winning streak.
Let us take a look at how some Chelsea fans reacted to this heart-breaking loss on Twitter.