2024 EFL Cup final
 Wembley Stadium hosted the match | |||||||
| Event | 2023–24 EFL Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| After extra time | |||||||
| Date | 25 February 2024 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Chris Kavanagh[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 88,868[3] | ||||||
The 2024 EFL Cup final was the final match of the 2023–24 EFL Cup. It was played between Chelsea and Liverpool, in a repeat of the 2022 final, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 25 February 2024.[4]
Liverpool won the match 1–0 after extra time to secure a record tenth EFL Cup title.[5][6]
Route to the final
[edit]Chelsea
[edit]| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | AFC Wimbledon (H) | 2–1 |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | 1–0 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers (H) | 2–0 |
| QF | Newcastle United (H) | 1–1 (4–2 p.) |
| SF | Middlesbrough (A) | 0–1 |
| Middlesbrough (H) | 6–1 | |
| Key: (H) = Home; (A) = Away | ||
As a Premier League club not involved in any UEFA competitions, Chelsea entered the cup in the second round where they were drawn at home to EFL League Two club AFC Wimbledon. The match was played at Stamford Bridge on 30 August 2023, where Chelsea won 2–1 thanks to goals from Noni Madueke and Enzo Fernández, with the latter scoring his first goal for the club.[7] In the third round, they were drawn at home to fellow Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, played at Stamford Bridge on 27 September. The match finished 1–0, with the lone goal coming from striker Nicolas Jackson in the 50th minute.[8] In the fourth round, Chelsea were drawn at home against EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers, with the match played on 1 November. The match saw Chelsea comfortably defeat Blackburn by a score of 2–0, with goals coming from both Benoît Badiashile and Raheem Sterling.[9]
In the quarter-finals, Chelsea were drawn at home for the fourth consecutive time to Premier League club and 2023 finalists Newcastle United, with the match played at Stamford Bridge on 19 December. A an early Newcastle goal from Callum Wilson saw them try to maintain the lead, however a defensive mistake from Kieran Trippier led to a stoppage-time equalizer from Chelsea substitute Mykhailo Mudryk, sending the match to a penalty shoot-out. Chelsea won 4–2 on penalties with a 100% conversion rate, with Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku, and Mudryk all scoring for the Blues. Wilson and Bruno Guimarães converted their penalties for Newcastle, with Trippier missing the target and Matt Ritchie having his decisive penalty saved by Đorđe Petrović.[10] In the semi-finals, which were played over two legs, Chelsea were drawn against EFL Championship club Middlesbrough with the first leg played away at Riverside Stadium on 9 January 2024. Middlesbrough shocked the Blues, beating them 1–0 with a goal from Hayden Hackney.[11] The second leg was played at Stamford Bridge on 23 January, with Chelsea winning 6–1 (6–2 on aggregate) in a must-win match, with an own goal from Jonny Howson, goals from Fernández, Axel Disasi, Madueke, and a brace from Palmer securing the victory for Chelsea, despite Middlesbrough's Morgan Rogers earning a consolation goal.[12]
Liverpool
[edit]| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Leicester City (H) | 3–1 |
| 4 | Bournemouth (A) | 2–1 |
| QF | West Ham United (H) | 5–1 |
| SF | Fulham (H) | 2–1 |
| Fulham (A) | 1–1 | |
| Key: (H) = Home; (A) = Away | ||
As a Premier League club involved in UEFA competitions, Liverpool entered in the third round where they were drawn at home to EFL Championship club Leicester City. The match was played at Anfield on 27 September 2023, where Liverpool won 3–1 thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota.[13] In the fourth round, they were drawn away to fellow Premier League club Bournemouth, played at Dean Court on 1 November 2023. The match finished with a 2–1 victory for Liverpool, with Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez both getting on the scoresheet.[14] In the quarter-finals, Liverpool were drawn at home to Premier League club West Ham United, played at Anfield on 20 December 2023. Liverpool produced a dominant display to record a 5–1 victory, with goals coming from Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. Jones scored twice, his second goal being Liverpool's 500th in the EFL Cup.[15] In the semi-finals, which were played over two legs, Liverpool were drawn against Premier League club Fulham with the first leg played at home at Anfield on 10 January 2024. Despite going behind in the first-half via a goal from Willian, Liverpool completed a turnaround to win 2–1 after two second-half goals by Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo.[16] The second leg was played at Craven Cottage on 24 January, with the match ending in a 1–1 draw after Issa Diop cancelled out Luis Díaz's first-half strike. As a result, Liverpool won the tie 3–2 on aggregate to progress to their second EFL Cup final in three seasons.[17]
Pre-match
[edit]This was Chelsea's tenth League Cup final and Liverpool's fourteenth – the latter was the most appearances of any club in this competition.[18] This was the sides' third meeting in a League Cup final, having met in 2005 and 2022, with Chelsea winning the former encounter and Liverpool winning the latter.[19] The final was initially meant to kick off at 16:30 GMT, but was instead switched to a 15:00 kick off after the match was designated a "high-risk" fixture by the Metropolitan Police.[20]
Match
[edit]Team selection
[edit]Regular starters for Liverpool Mohamed Salah,[21] Darwin Núñez,[21] Dominik Szoboszlai,[22] Joël Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold[23] Alisson Becker and Curtis Jones[24] were all ruled out of the final due to injury, as were Diogo Jota,[21] Thiago Alcântara and Stefan Bajcetic.[23]
Summary
[edit]The match kicked off at 15:00 in front of a crowd of 88,868.[3] Chelsea came close to opening the scoring just within the opening 20 minutes, after Cole Palmer had an effort saved at point-blank range by Caoimhín Kelleher, before Nicolas Jackson's follow up effort was thwarted by Wataru Endō. In the 32nd minute, Palmer played a through-ball to Jackson, who then played the ball across from the right to Raheem Sterling who was left to slot the ball into the net. However, the goal was initially disallowed for offside by the assistant referee, and then also by the video assistant referee after making a check, confirming that Jackson was clearly in an offside position when receiving the through ball. Liverpool came close to scoring in the 40th minute after Andrew Robertson played a cross towards Cody Gakpo, whose header rebounded off the right post.[5]
In the second half, Liverpool thought they had taken the lead in the 60th minute after a free kick into the Chelsea penalty area by Robertson found its way towards Virgil van Dijk, who headed the ball into the corner of the Chelsea goal. However, the goal was disallowed by the video assistant referee, after adjudging that Endō was blocking Chelsea defender Levi Colwill while starting in an offside position. Chelsea came close to scoring in the 76th minute after Palmer played the ball across the Liverpool penalty area, where Conor Gallagher attempted to flick the ball into the Liverpool goal, however his effort ended up striking the right post. Into extra time, Van Dijk headed the ball across to substitute Jayden Danns, whose header had to be tipped over the goal by Đorđe Petrović. Late into extra time, Liverpool found a dramatic winning goal after a corner by Kostas Tsimikas from the right found its way on to the head of Van Dijk who managed to guide the ball past Petrović and into the left corner of the net. Despite desperate late attempts from Chelsea to find a goal, Liverpool came out victorious with a 1–0 win after extra time to secure their tenth EFL Cup, and their second in three seasons.[6]
Details
[edit]
          Chelsea |    Liverpool |
| Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[25]
|
Statistics
[edit]| Statistic | Chelsea | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 19 | 24 |
| Shots on target | 9 | 11 |
| Ball possession | 46% | 54% |
| Corner kicks | 6 | 5 |
| Offside | 3 | 2 |
| Fouls committed | 14 | 21 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 5 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Post-match
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With this defeat, Chelsea became the first team to lose six successive domestic cup finals. This dismal run began when they lost the 2019 EFL Cup final to Manchester City. They then lost two FA Cup finals in a row in 2020 and 2021 (to Arsenal and Leicester City, respectively). In 2022, they reached the final of the EFL Cup and their third successive FA Cup final; they would lose both of them on penalties to Liverpool after both matches ended in goalless draws.[27] Former Manchester United player and Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville described the match as "Klopp's kids against the blue billion-pound bottle-jobs", referencing the Liverpool fringe players and Chelsea's overspending on player transfers.[28]
For Liverpool, it was the first time under Jürgen Klopp that they had won a domestic cup final without the need of a penalty shoot-out, excluding the 2022 FA Community Shield, when they defeated Manchester City 3–1.[29] It turned out to be Klopp's final trophy with the club, having announced a month prior to the final that he would leave at the end of the season.[30]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Reyes, Joel (26 February 2024). "Virgil Van Dijk: Big Game VVD Shows Up for Liverpool Again With MOTM Display in Carabao Cup Final". Sports Brief. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Referee appointments: Carabao Cup Final 2024". EFL.com. English Football League. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ a b c "EFL Cup final: Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool – Van Dijk heads extra-time winner". BBC Sport. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ Brennan, Feargal (10 January 2024). "When is the 2024 Carabao Cup final? Date, time of League Cup title match at Wembley Stadium". The Sporting News.
- ^ a b "Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool (aet) - Virgil van Dijk extra-time winner gives Reds Wembley glory". BBC Sport. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Liverpool win Carabao Cup as Van Dijk's extra-time header sinks Chelsea". Guardian. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ Howell, Alex (30 August 2023). "Chelsea survive scare to beat AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Chelsea 1–0 Brighton: Nicolas Jackson fires Blues into fourth round of Carabao Cup". Sky Sports. 28 September 2023.
- ^ "Chelsea cruise past Blackburn in Carabao Cup". ESPN. 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Chelsea 1–1 Newcastle United (4–2 on pens)". BBC Sport. 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Middlesbrough shock Chelsea in Carabao Cup semifinal first leg". ESPN. 9 January 2024.
- ^ "Chelsea 6-1 Middlesbrough (Agg: 6-2): Blues blow away Boro to reach Carabao Cup final". BBC Sport. 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Dominik Szoboszlai scores stunner in Liverpool win". BBC Sport. 27 September 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Bobbie (1 November 2023). "Darwin Nunez continues fine form to send Reds into last eight". BBC Sport.
- ^ Stone, Simon (20 December 2023). "Jurgen Klopp's side reach Carabao Cup last four". BBC Sport.
- ^ Rose, Gary (10 January 2024). "Cody Gakpo hits winner as Reds fight back to win EFL Cup semi-final first leg". BBC Sport.
- ^ Begley, Emlyn (24 January 2024). "Luis Diaz goal sends Reds to Carabao Cup final". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Chelsea see off Tottenham to set up Carabao Cup final against Arsenal or Liverpool". Metro. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Chelsea v Liverpool: 18 stats to know about the Carabao Cup final". Liverpool F.C. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "Carabao Cup: Chelsea v Liverpool final to kick off at 3pm on police advice". BBC Sport. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez left out of Liverpool's Carabao Cup final squad". 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Liverpool injuries: Every player out of Carabao Cup final vs Chelsea". 90min. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "'Injury problems have reached crisis proportions'". BBC Sport. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Regulations". EFL.com. English Football League. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Dominski, Michael; Mathews, Max (25 February 2024). "Chelsea vs Liverpool live updates: Van Dijk extra-time goal wins Carabao Cup final". The Athletic. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Chelsea become first English side to lose 6 domestic cup finals in a row – 3 of them to Liverpool". Tribuna. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Carabao Cup: 'Jurgen Klopp's kids beat Chelsea's billion-pound bottle-jobs' - pundits react to Liverpool triumph". BBC Sport. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Community Shield: Liverpool 3-1 Man City - Darwin Nunez seals victory". BBC Sport. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ "Jurgen Klopp to step down as Liverpool manager at end of season". BBC Sport. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.