Liverpool’s dramatic win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final meant a lot to Jurgen Klopp – and it will also change the pre-match routine of many of his players.
Virgil van Dijk headed in the winner in the 118th minute at Wembley to spark jubilant celebrations from the red half of the stadium. The goal meant that Klopp's final season in charge of Liverpool will end with silverware, regardless of what happens in the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup.
It also means a great deal to several Liverpool players involved because it was their first trophy with the club. Summer signings Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch all started the match and claimed their first winners’ medal with the Reds, while Cody Gakpo also tasted a cup final win for the first time in a red shirt.
That was also the case for the whole host of youngsters involved in the squad due to the number of injuries. Jayden Danns, Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, James McConnell and Bobby Clark all featured in the match, while Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni were unused substitutes, but still picked up medals on Sunday.
Dominik Szoboszlai missed the match through injury, but received a winners’ medal as part of the squad, having scored twice in the earlier rounds of the Carabao Cup. Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak were other injured Liverpool stars present at Wembley and were able to claim their first senior medals with the club, having played in the first round of the competition against Leicester in September.
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The victory means the aforementioned 14 Liverpool players are now allowed to touch the famous ‘This is Anfield’ sign in the tunnel at their home ground. Previously, they have been forbidden from doing so, due to a rule Klopp outlined way back in 2016, in the second year of his stay at the club.
Jayden Danns has a first Liverpool winners' medal (Chris Brunskill/Getty Images)
The famous 'This is Anfield' sign (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! How many more trophies will Liverpool win before the end of the season? Comment below.
“I've told my players not to touch the This Is Anfield sign until they win something,” he said. “'It's a sign of respect. I touched it when I was manager of Borussia Dortmund, but we lost 4-0!”
Szoboszlai was delighted that his team-mates got the job done without him, having lost the argument over his own involvement in the game. He told Hungarian TV: "They [Liverpool’s medical department] are careful with me. If it would be up to me I would play [against Chelsea ]. I hate it. I hate not playing. I had a lot of disagreements with the doctors."
Many of Liverpool's players won their first trophy with the club (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)He added: “I loved it. What we saw today was so exceptional, it might not happen again. Not because I’m on the sidelines, but because these things don’t happen in football. I got told outside that there’s an English phrase, ‘you don’t win trophies with kids’. I didn’t know that.
"In my more than 20 years, it’s easily the most special trophy I’ve ever won. It’s absolutely exceptional. Tonight there is an overwhelming feeling of ‘oh my god, what’s going on?’ I was proud of everybody involved in everything here.”
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