Caoimhin Kelleher delivers once again as Liverpool defeat Chelsea in Carabao Cup final 

Chelsea 0

Liverpool 1

CORK'S Caoimhin Kelleher’s storied career at Liverpool gained a new chapter when he helped Jurgen Klopp’s side defeat Chelsea 1-0 in the Carabao Cup final after extra time at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

While Virgil Van Dijk gathers the headlines for scoring the winning goal in extra-time, the team couldn’t have done it without the shot-stopper that learned his trade at Ringmahon Rangers.

His transfer fee has at least another 15 million added to it after today, and that if it happens this summer, it will be great news for Ringmahon and Rockmount who will share 20% of his transfer fee thanks to the sell-on clause in his contract.  Kelleher could now fetch 30-40 million euro if sold.

Kelleher made a string of excellent saves, nine in total in intense pressure, and this helped steady a Liverpool side that was forced to play a second string team over an ongoing injury crisis at Anfield.

It was billed as a rematch – of the day when Klopp ended ten years of domestic cup misery and the cracks began to appear in Roman Abramovich’s reign at Chelsea. 

Despite the same colours on the pitch, a lot has changed since then and the only real link between was the presence of a handful of Liverpool players.

Kelleher, given how his career is forever intertwined with the Carabao Cup, was the main connection between two days in February and he went into this game after guiding the club through ties against Leicester City, Bournemouth, West Ham, and Fulham.

The goalkeeper had no time for feel sentimental, the first shot on target was a stunning close range strike from Cole Palmer and he was called into action in the 20th minute. 

Kelleher put his body on the line and his defence did the rest of the rest of the work while a sold-out Wembley wondered how the ball had not gone in.

Up until that point, all he had to do was punch away a corner in between kicking the ball out while making sure Liverpool kept possession.

He didn’t have it all his own way, a VAR decision saved Kelleher in the 32nd minute when Raheem Sterling guided in a low cross. The winger was judged to be offside when he collected the pass and got around Ibrahima Konate, and the Liverpool fans breathed a sigh of relief.

A similar passage of play involving Sterling, created space for Conor Gallagher to set up Palmer for a shot inside the area at the end of the first half. Once again Kelleher put himself in front of the ball and diverted it away before someone in a blue jersey could get to it.

Liverpool came through this spell and an Alexis McAllister cross found Cody Gakpo, and the winger hit the outside of the post with a header. This was followed by a scrambling block by the Chelsea defence that denied Conor Bradley in the final seconds before the break.

A tepid restart followed, as if the occasion seeped through the blood and thunder which both sets of players played with during the first half.

Liverpool very quickly felt the Blues frustrations with VAR as a Van Dijk header was ruled over an offside when the proceeding free-kick was sent in.

And like their Merseyside rivals, Chelsea also hit the post at the end of a neat little passage of play. Gallagher was left holding his head, and there was no reprieve during a counter attack at the 90th minute as Kelleher came off his line and knocked the ball away from the feet of the England international.

With the clock in the red, he made a succession of saves at point blank range during a late push by Chelsea for the winner.

He continued to deny Chelsea during an agonising period of extra-time for both teams. The stand out-save was catching a long range Palmer shot, and that helped steady Liverpool during as they emptied their bench by bringing on a troop of academy graduates.

It came down to a Kostas Tsimikas corner, and Van Dijk nodded it in at the front post. Chelsea could do nothing in the three remaining minutes, and Liverpool won their tenth overall Carabao Cup.

CHELSEA: Petrovic 7: Gusto 7, Disasi 5, Colwill 6, Chilwell 6 (Chalobah 111); Caicedo 6, Fernandez 6; Sterling 5 (Nkunku 67), Palmer 7, Gallagher 7 (Madueke 95); Jackson 5 (Mudryk 89).

LIVERPOOL: Kelleher 8; Bradley 7 (Clark 72), Konate 7 (Quansah 105), Van Dijk 9, Robertson 7 (Tsimikas 87); Gravenberch 6 (Gomez 27), Endo 8, MacAllister 8 (McConnell 87); Elliot 8, Gakpo 7 (Danns 87), Diaz 8.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh 6/10