Jordan Henderson hailed Liverpool's resolve after they overcame the loss of Mohamed Salah to emerge as FA Cup Final victors with a 6-5 penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea.
The Reds made it two domestic final triumphs from two against the Blues this season, as they overcame the London club in the tension of another sudden death shoot-out at Wembley on Saturday.
Konstantinos Tsimikas was the hero after Alisson saved Mason Mount's spot-kick following a goalless encounter, adding the only missing major honour to Jurgen Klopp's Anfield trophy cabinet.
Victory also keeps the prospect of an unprecedented quadruple alive - though Liverpool would need Manchester City to slip up in the Premier League, with the Champions League final still against Real Madrid to come.
The Merseyside club suffered a big blow when Salah was forced off just after the half-hour mark through injury.
Coupled with the loss of talismanic midfielder Fabinho for the final and with Virgil van Dijk not fit to return to the field for extra time, the Reds needed to show their mettle - and captain Henderson felt there was plenty of that on show.
"It was difficult, we knew it would be," the England international told BBC Two. "We've had so many games in a short space of time.
"It was a big blow with Mo going off and Fab last week. But that's what we're all about, the attitude and mentality to keep going and to dig in when it's tough.
"We're here to lift trophies, we work so hard all season. To come here and get over the line means a lot to everyone. The fans deserve it, the whole club.
"It's a big moment for us, we haven't been in this final for some time so to win it was special. It's fine margins, especially in finals, as we know in the last two.
"We've just got to give everything, like we always do. We've got to work for each other and play with the players that we've got.
"It's incredible some of the talent we have got in the dressing room and the personalities. You put that together and you win trophies really."
Henderson - who is the first player to appear in FA Cup finals a decade apart for the same club since David O'Leary for Arsenal in 1993 - will now focus on the last three games of the season.
Back-to-back Premier League encounters with Southampton and Wolves are to come, before a Champions League final rematch with Madrid in Paris that will see the Reds aim for revenge for their 2018 defeat.
"We've won two so far this season. We've still got some big games left. We just need to keep on going right until the end and see what we can finish on," Henderson added.
"We've got to recover quickly, another big game on Tuesday against Southampton, we have to be ready for that. Then [it is] Wolves at the weekend, and then the Champions League final.
"We have three big games left and hopefully we can win all three and finish the season on a high."
Goalkeeper Alisson hopes the Reds can use their latest Wembley triumph into momentum for further silverware.
"This gives us more confidence in the Premier League and also the Champions League final," he told BBC One.
"[But] It's a fantastic moment now, we just need to enjoy It's amazing, we did such a good performance. It was a shame we didn't score.
"It was a proper fight, we kept a clean sheet, and then afterwards the boys were unbelievable scoring the goals. I just had to save the last one."
Both Alisson and opposite number Edouard Mendy made a save apiece in the shoot-out, with the latter denying Senegal team-mate Sadio Mane to force sudden death in the shoot-out.
Cesar Azpilicueta also failed to find three back of the net, as the Chelsea skipper rattled the post.
Alisson was quick to pay tribute to his fellow goalkeeper, adding: "Myself and Mendy [made] amazing saves.
"[But] I couldn't have done the saves without the help of the team. They work well and make it easier for me. All goalkeeper coaches, they help me with the decisions."
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
