Liverpool defeated Chelsea 1-0 in extra time thanks to a spectacular header from Virgil van Dijk, keeping their prospects of a historic quadruple alive. Liverpool also won the Carabao Cup.

The 64th League Cup final at Wembley saw the Dutch defender, Liverpool’s inspiring captain, rise to the top to defeat the formidable Dorde Petrovic. The match ended in the 118th minute.

At Wembley, goals disallowed by VAR in normal time went to Raheem Sterling and Van Dijk, while strikes from Cody Gakpo and Conor Gallagher struck the woodwork in either half.

Gallagher had a great opportunity to give Chelsea their sixth League Cup as extra time approached, but Liverpool’s outstanding Caoimhin Kelleher saved the day with a great stop to deny the England midfielder.

After repelling two potential Liverpool free kicks in the opening seven minutes, Luis Diaz was found by Andrew Robertson with an inviting cross, which the forward timidly headed into Dorde Petrovic’s gloves.

Five minutes later, Pochettino’s Chelsea managed their first effort on goal, but Malo Gusto’s driven effort lacked both strength and accuracy, and Caoimhin Kelleher comfortably gathered it.

Despite being by much the more dangerous team in the first few minutes, Jurgen Klopp’s team rallied, as the outstanding Petrovic promptly denied Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister.

With the goal gaping, Cole Palmer was on the edge of the six-yard box when the ball deflected to him, giving Chelsea a fantastic opportunity to grab the lead against the run of play.

Though every Wembley supporter was expecting the net to bulge, Kelleher, starting in place of Liverpool’s injured number one Alisson, made a significant impression to keep the England international out.

As the first half went on, the Blues gained momentum, and in the 32nd minute, Raheem Sterling seemed to push his team ahead with a close-range goal. But Nicolas Jackson was rejected because VAR showed he was offside by a whisker during the build-up.

To the relief of a rooted Petrovic, who could only watch in hope, Cody Gakpo rose beautifully to meet an inviting cross from Robertson and headed against the post after Ryan Gravenberch was stretchered off.

Wataru Endo had the first genuine opportunity of the second half for the Reds, who were clearly the superior team. However, the Japan midfielder’s reckless shot from outside the area went wide.

In the 58th minute, Petrovic was involved in the action once more when he blocked Harvey Elliott’s volleyed attempt to keep the score scoreless.

At the hour mark, Virgil van outran Ben Chilwell to meet Robertson’s free-kιck and beаt the Chelsea custodian with an incredible header, setting up the most contentious moment of the match.

However, when Endo was ruled to have been offside and prevented Colwill from marking the Liverpool captain, Van Dijk’s header was later disallowed by Chris Kavanagh and the video assistant referee.

Liverpool’s enthusiasm seemed to be ebbing as Conor Gallagher flicked Palmer’s pass against the far post in the 76th minute, forcing the woodwork to come into play once more.

Five minutes remained in normal time when Palmer found Gallagher in acres of space once more. However, Kelleher denied the charging midfielder before the player fired over the crossbar a few moments later.

Pochettino was feeling every emotion in the Chelsea dugout as he watched Ibrahima Konate and Kelleher engage in a furious game of pinball to manage to keep the opponents out as extra time drew near.

Elliott scuffed a shot into the side netting after Petrovic made an incredible save to deny 18-year-old Jayden Danns, giving Liverpool their first real opportunity of extra time.

A lively Noni Madueke challenged Kelleher with a curled effort from range after taking Gallagher’s place in the 97th minute, and the Republic of Ireland international easily capitalised on it.

With five minutes left in extra time, Petrovic produced a fantastic save to keep Elliott’s header out from a close angle. Then, Van Dijk sent Liverpool supporters into a frenzy of joy by heading home Konstantinos Tsimikas’ inswinging corner.