Sunday’s Carabao Cup final brought Jurgen Klopp an eighth trophy as Liverpool manager as his inexperienced side saw off Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley.
It was a sixth consecutive defeat in domestic cup finals for Chelsea and here, the PA news agency looks at the noteworthy statistical implications of the match.
Trophy haulKlopp has won seven different honours with Liverpool, with Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time winner meaning the League Cup is the first trophy his side have lifted more than once.
Victory over Tottenham in the 2019 Champions League final brought his first trophy and the following season saw Liverpool win the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup and then the Premier League.
A domestic cup double in 2021-22, both in penalty shoot-outs against Chelsea after goalless finals, allowed them to add the 2022 Community Shield.
An eighth different prize could yet come in this season’s Europa League, a competition in which Liverpool lost the 2015-16 final to Sevilla at the end of Klopp’s debut season.
Sunday was Liverpool’s record 10th League Cup win.
Klopp’s kidsMuch was made of the youth of the Liverpool team that ended the game but Chelsea too are in a rebuilding phase – their finishing XI actually had a slightly younger average age than their Liverpool counterparts, 23 years and 77 days to 24 years and 172 days.
Liverpool brought on Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jayden Danns for, respectively, their ninth, seventh and second senior appearances, while Jarell Quansah was playing only his 20th Reds game and 36th in senior football.
Van Dijk, though, lifted the total senior appearances of their finishing XI to 1,670, compared to Chelsea’s 1,513, with Joe Gomez joining him above 200 club appearances as Liverpool totalled 817 by that measure to Chelsea’s 371.
The key difference is the method of acquiring those players. While Liverpool finished with five academy products on the pitch, and started another in Conor Bradley, Chelsea’s were largely acquired in Todd Boehly and co’s billion-pound spending spree.
The Blues XI that finished the game cost a reported £466million in transfer fees, with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo both £100m-plus signings and every outfield player bar homegrown pair Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill costing £25m or more. Van Dijk accounts for just over half of the £148m cost of Liverpool’s XI.
Final destinationGary Neville, on co-commentary duty for Sky, labelled Chelsea “billion-pound bottle jobs” after Van Dijk’s winner. And while the Blues won the 2021 Champions League and 2019 Europa League, they have lost six successive domestic finals since lifting the 2018 FA Cup.
Sunday’s setback followed in a near-identical vein to Liverpool’s 2021-22 cup double, with Van Dijk staving off the prospect of another penalty shoot-out.
Kostas Tsimikas, whose corner set up that goal, scored the winning kick in the FA Cup final two years ago while the League Cup was a nightmare for Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was substituted on for the shoot-out but conceded to all 11 Liverpool players – including goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher – before blazing his own penalty over the bar.
That echoed 2019’s confusion over Maurizio Sarri’s attempt to substitute Kepa off before the start of the shoot-out. He saved from Leroy Sane but let a weak Sergio Aguero effort under him as Manchester City won 4-3.
Youri Tielemans settled the 2021 FA Cup final in Leicester’s favour, a year after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s double earned Arsenal a 2-1 win over Chelsea. Christian Pulisic’s early opener was Chelsea’s only goal in the six finals.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino also lost both his finals with former club Tottenham, in the 2019 Champions League – against Liverpool – and the 2015 League Cup.
Dyche still demanding 'the hard yards' from Everton despite Premier League safety
Sean Dyche claimed putting in "the hard yards" is what ultimately got Everton over the line when it came to securing their Premier League status.
Everton beat Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford in the space of six days in April to ensure their place in the top flight for another season.
That is despite two separate points deductions, worth eight points overall, having been dished their way this season. Everton are set to appeal the second decision at some point in May.
Last week's 1-0 win over Brentford saw Dyche's team move 11 points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town, meaning Friday's game against the Hatters no longer has so much riding on it for the Toffees, though Dyche will not let the hard work stop.
"I took over midway through so it is a bit different to last season. You try to re-model a group that's already been modelled, which is a challenge," Dyche told reporters.
"This season I think the biggest part of the success overall has been pockets of all different reasons. It is the work, work of the team I think we have got back to.
"We may lose it so much due to good performances when we were not winning but the hard yards as I call it, just doing the graft. The organisation, the will, the thirst and desire to work, to really work.
"I feel we still have good quality players here but it has to have a base to work from. You have to have a tactical understanding, you have to work, you have to do the hard yards, you have to cover the ground.
"Stats show for 60 minutes the ball is in play, if you're a player you're probably going to have it for one minute so what are you doing for the rest of it, for the other 59 minutes? You better be working because that's what the modern game demands."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Luton Town – Ross Barkley
Barkley – who made 150 league appearances for Everton between 2011 and 2017 – has scored just one goal in 10 Premier League games against sides he has previously played for in the competition. However, that strike did come in a match at Kenilworth Road this season, a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea.
Everton – Idrissa Gueye
Gueye played a crucial role in Everton's survival, scoring in the matches against Forest and Brentford. The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has netted three times this season, and the Toffees will be hoping to tie him down to a new contract.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Everton are winless in nine away Premier League games (D3 L6) since beating Burnley 2-0 in December. Indeed, while five of the Toffees' first eight league wins this season came away from home, each of their last four have all been at Goodison Park.
Luton have beaten Everton twice this season, once in the league and once in the cup, with both of those 2-1 wins coming at Goodison Park.
The Hatters have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3 L10), with no side picking up fewer points than the Hatters since the start of this run (six). Despite this, they have only failed to score in one of their last 23 league games, a 2-0 defeat at league leaders Arsenal last month.
This is Everton's first away match against Luton since a 1-0 win in the League Cup in October 2007, with Tim Cahill netting an extra-time winner. Their last league visit to Kenilworth Road also ended in a 1-0 victory back in November 1991 thanks to a Robert Warzycha goal.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Luton Town – 36.7%
Everton – 34.6%
Draw – 28.7%
Grealish praises 'togetherness' in Man City's squad during title charge
Jack Grealish credits Manchester City’s togetherness for their recent success ahead of another crucial run-in in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s men are second in the table, just one point behind Arsenal with a game in hand, as they aim to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive league title.
City have already won the Club World Cup this season, beating Fluminense to earn the trophy, and they will also play in the FA Cup final against Manchester United for the second year in a row later this month.
Despite the hopes of back-to-back trebles being ended by their Champions League quarter-final exit to Real Madrid, Grealish is confident that City will finish the season successfully, highlighting the crucial strong bond amongst the team.
"I've said in a lot of interviews that, for me, the team I'm in now - and especially last year - it's just unbelievable, the togetherness we have. Over the years, there have been so many top teams in the Premier League that haven't done what we've done," he told Sky Sports.
"Even City's team in 2018-19, with David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne and Man United's team in 2008-09, with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez - none of these teams won the treble.
"That says something about our team because you can have all of the talent in the world, but you need to have the other side of it as well, like that togetherness of the pitch. That's something we had so much of, and we've got it this season as well.
"With the experience we have and the quality we have, we don't really doubt ourselves.
"I feel like everyone knows how hard it is to win a treble. We did it last year, and it was one of the best feelings I've ever had in football, especially having played such a big part in it.
"I just want to finish the season strongly, try and win every competition we're in at the moment."
Grealish has struggled with injuries this season, managing 33 appearances in all competitions, and scoring just three goals.
Since making his return against Arsenal at the end of March, the 28-year-old has played in all but one of City’s eight games, and he is determined to make a successful finish to the season.
"When I'm injured, I start watching clips of myself and just remember how many good moments I have had in football. It brings back my love for football," he said.
"There's nothing that beats it. It's what I'm used to, and it's what I've done my whole life, so when I'm stuck indoors while the team are out training for a month or six weeks, it is difficult at times.
"Being injured certainly gave me that extra motivation to come back and just play well again and try and succeed with City. I'm over the moon to be back and, hopefully, I can have a strong end to the season."
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
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