Liverpool won the League Cup final in dramatic fashion as Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga missed the decisive penalty to give the Reds an 11-10 shoot-out victory after a pulsating 0-0 draw at Wembley on Sunday.
Chelsea’s much-vaunted defence will take on Liverpool’s free-scoring attack in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
Sunday’s Carabao Cup final will be billed as Jurgen Klopp versus Thomas Tuchel, the guy who followed the guy, but neither will want – or even agree – they deserve top billing.
Diogo Jota fired Liverpool into the League Cup final against Chelsea as the Portugal forward’s double sealed a 2-0 win at Arsenal in the semi-final second leg on Thursday.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised the defensive effort which earned his side a goalless draw against Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final – but fears it may have put Sunday’s north London derby in doubt.
Arsenal held out for over an hour a man down to leave their League Cup semi-final with Liverpool delicately poised after the first leg ended 0-0 at Anfield on Thursday.
Chelsea reached the League Cup final with a 1-0 win at Tottenham as Antonio Rudiger’s goal and three VAR decisions helped the Blues seal a 3-0 aggregate success on Wednesday.
Chelsea are weighing up the calculated “gamble” of pitching Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante into Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Tottenham.
Chelsea will hope to complete the job by beating Tottenham to reach the Carabao Cup final this week, while Liverpool and Arsenal are only just getting started in their semi-final.
Thomas Tuchel has signalled “a huge step forward” for loan signing Saul Niguez in Wednesday’s 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg victory over Tottenham.