Liverpool have been crowned the winners of the 2023/24 Carabao Cup after a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in extra time at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.
Starting the competition with home wins over AFC Wimbledon, Brighton & Hove Albion and Blackburn Rovers, the Blues then needed a stoppage-time equaliser and penalties to get the better of Newcastle United in the quarter-finals.
Amid their mixed form in the Premier League and an almighty scare in the semi-finals after losing 1-0 away at Championship side Middlesbrough in the first leg, Chelsea blew Michael Carrick’s side away 6-1 in the return leg to seal a place at Wembley.
Liverpool also had their injury woes to contend with for the big match. Already set to be without the likes of Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones for the final, it was confirmed at 2pm that Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez would also be absent following question marks over their fitness going into the final.
Van Dijk powered home another header from Konstantinos Tsimikas’ corner to spark wild scenes in front of the Liverpool fans in the 118th minute.
