IT’S CUP FINAL DAY! Hello and welcome to LIVE updates of the 2022 EFL Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea. The first piece of domestic silverware of the season is up for grabs at Wembley with Thomas Tuchel’s five-time winners taking on Jurgen Klopp’s eight-time winners from Merseyside. Kick off 16.30 GMT.
League Cup / Matchday 1
Wembley / 27.02.2022
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Live
Live Updates
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Updated 27/02/2022 at 20:06 GMT
5'
LIVERPOOL WITH THE FIRST ATTACK OF NOTE
Salah dances in from the right and tries to engineer space for a shot. He's almost crowded out but manages to find Fabinho. The Brazilian feeds Alexander Arnold on the right but his dangerous-looking low ball is diverted to safety with Mane lurking in the middle.
4'
3'
LEAGUE CUP H2H
Chelsea 4 wins, Liverpool 3 wins, 1 draws.
2'
FOOTBALL STANDS TOGETHER
Both sets of fans put together a strong show of solidarity ahead of kick off.
1st Half
1'
KICK OFF!
Liverpool get the 2022 EFL Cup final underway.
Thiago is in tears on the sidelines. He is being comforted by Alisson.
PRE-MATCH BLOW FOR LIVERPOOL AS THIAGO IS RULED OUT
Thiago has apparently been injured in the warm up. That means Naby Keita comes into the starting XI with Harvey Elliott on the bench.
GOALS, GOALS, GOALS! - LIVERPOOL'S ROAD TO WEMBLEY
How Klopp's men made it to a record-extending 13th appearance in a League Cup final.
16.20
16.15
FIRST OF FOUR FOR LIVERPOOL?
There's a lot of talk about a Liverpool quadruple all of a sudden but that is obviously a long shot at this juncture.
Ibrahim Mustapha looks at how Jurgen Klopp's side can use Chelsea as a blueprint to gobble up more silverware.
16.10
KLOPP ON TUCHEL
His way is really exceptional and he's an outstanding coach and an outstanding manager.
16.05
CHELSEA HOPING FOR POSITIVE ON-PITCH FOCUS
On Saturday afternoon, Chelsea announced that the club would be placed in the ‘stewardship’ of the club’s charitable trust. That was followed by a remarkably brief statement on their website saying those at the club were ‘praying for peace’ in Ukraine. Both acts were likely in response to the growing attention and criticism towards club owner Roman Abramovich.
With little clarity on what these moves mean, Alexander Netherton has taken a look at the context behind these developments.
16.00
REDS SKIPPER WANTS CUP TO BE PLATFORM FOR MORE SUCCESS
For us, it’s a final that we want to win, we want to use it as a platform to give us a big confidence boost going into the business end of the season. But, it’s never going to be easy against Chelsea, they are a world class team - as they have proved the last year or two.
Jordan Henderson
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'A big moment in the season' - Henderson on Carabao Cup final
15.55
'THE NEXT GAME IS A FINAL - NOTHING CHANGES...'
Liverpool assistant boss Pep Lijnders took on some media duties ahead of the final, as has been the case through much of the cup run.
The Dutchman is an integral part of Klopp's backroom team and made all the right noises coming into this heavyweight encounter.
"Look at the best clubs in the world. One thing they have in common is this 'one club mentality'. We go for this game on Sunday with all we have," he told reporters.
"We will see the fans, hear them, feel them. It's a big competition. When we started this project, we came to a conclusion that the way to succeed in English football is to just focus on the next game. Our group created that mentality that the next game is a final. So nothing changes here."
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Image credit: Getty Images
15.50
TUCHEL ON LUKAKU
He has been good, like everybody else. He is an important player. He played a lot of matches from the start for us. We have maybe the same situation with Jorginho, one of our captains. He did not play so much from the beginning lately because we feel he's a bit tired. The focus is hugely on Romelu, but the situation is more or less the same for Jorginho.
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I have to do the best solution - Thomas Tuchel undecided on Mendy or Kepa
15.45
BIG CALLS MADE BY TUCHEL
The question mark surrounding Chelsea’s line-up was always going to involve Romelu Lukaku – and he doesn’t earn a recall. The Belgian was dropped for the 2-0 Champions League win over Lille on Tuesday night and Tuchel is happy with what he saw against the French champions. That means there are just two changes from that match with Mason Mount and Trevoh Chalobah in the starting XI. Reece James is deemed fit enough for the bench following injury.
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Image credit: Getty Images
15.40
KLOPP PUTS FAITH IN KELLEHER
As expected, Liverpool start cup keeper Caoimhin Kelleher as one of two changes from the 6-0 rout of Leeds in midweek. Captain Jordan Henderson replaces Curtis Jones while Diogo Jota is fit enough to be named amongst the substitutes.
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Image credit: Getty Images
15.35
LUKAKU AND KEPA NOT IN CHELSEA STARTING XI; JOTA ON BENCH FOR REDS
LIVERPOOL: Kelleher, Alexander Arnold, Van Dijk, Matip, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Diaz, Mane, Salah… Subs: Alisson, Konate, Milner, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Jota, Tsimikas, Origi. /// CHELSEA: Mendy; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Kovacic, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Pulisic… Subs: Kepa; James, Sarr; Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Hudson-Odoi; Lukaku, Werner.