In the League Cup final, Jürgen Klopp had the opportunity to make up for his loss six years prior in his first season at Liverpool, while Thomas Tuchel could add a third trophy to their season’s tally, having already won the European Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Klopp made three changes to the side that thrashed Leeds, bringing in Caoimhin Kelleher, Naby Keïta and Jordan Henderson for Alisson Becker, Thiago Alcântara and Curtis Jones. Liverpool set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation.
Tuchel made two changes to the team that beat Lille, as Andreas Christensen and Hakim Ziyech both missed out through injury, giving opportunities to Trevoh Chalobah and Mason Mount. Chelsea lined up in their usual 3-4-3 shape.
Liverpool’s shape lined up well with Chelsea’s to press high. The three forwards each picked up a centre-back, and although Mateo Kovacic tried to drop in to outnumber Liverpool in this area, Henderson would follow him to stop him from going free, while Keïta would do the same to N’Golo Kanté.
One way Chelsea had of getting around this was by having Antonio Rüdiger and Chalobah drop deeper to form a diamond with Edouard Mendy, leaving Thiago Silva at its tip. If Sadio Mané could be drawn into pressing Mendy, then this would leave Silva free to receive the ball and turn out.
Chelsea also had some success, albeit not really consistently, by playing wide. Liverpool’s full-backs would push forward to press Chelsea’s wing-backs, but this would leave Liverpool three-versus-three at the back, meaning any little mistake would see Chelsea get in behind them, while the opposite side’s full-back tucking in to support the centre-backs meant there was acres of space for Chelsea’s wing-back on the opposite flank to exploit if Chelsea could get the ball over to them.
In the second half, Liverpool’s full-backs were more reluctant to step out and meet the Chelsea wing-backs, meaning they didn’t leave their backline three-on-three with Chelsea’s attackers, but it also gave the wing-backs more time and space to play into attack, so there wasn’t a great difference in outcome.
Chelsea’s shape didn’t line up nearly as well against Liverpool’s. They were reluctant to leave their back three alone against Liverpool’s attacking trio, and so it was much rarer for their wing-backs to join the press than Liverpool’s full-backs. This meant Chelsea were generally outnumbered by Liverpool as they played out. Kanté and Kovacic were forced back by Keïta and Henderson pushing forward, who would be left free if either of the pair pushed out. Klopp increased this threat further in the second half by bringing on the more creative Harvey Elliott in place of Henderson.
This meant Fabinho was generally left free in midfield, or, if Christian Pulisic or Mount came inside to stop him, one of Liverpool’s full-backs were left free, ensuring Liverpool had space to pass out. Chelsea would press, but it was more dependent on when the opportunity arose than on a systematised effort, meaning Liverpool were generally able to work the ball out from the back. Chelsea would have plenty of men back to stop them though, and they gradually began to form a 5-3-2 shape out of possession, with Pulisic dropping back into midfield to help out Kanté and Kovacic.
It was an unusual match tactically as both sides essentially cancelled each other yet it remained an entertaining end-to-end game. This was essentially because both teams were very good in transition. They would both quickly get the ball into attack, attacking the spaces down the outside of the centre-backs before the full-backs or wing-backs could retreat.
Chelsea were never quite able to finish their moves in the first half as they didn’t have any real strikers on the pitch, but when they introduced Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, both in bad form, they now had real strikers but a less fluid attack, making it more difficult to actually create those chances to finish. Liverpool also created chances, but with Chelsea having an extra man back, it was generally harder for them to get away, while Mendy had an excellent game in goal.
After 120 minutes of neither side being able to score, when it came down to penalties they suddenly couldn’t stop scoring. Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought on in the final minutes specifically for the shoot-out, but failed to save a single penalty and skied his over the bar, handing the trophy to Liverpool.
If you enjoy these posts, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a one-off donation. For just €2.99, you can get access to premium videos and training sessions.
No responses yet