After Virgil van Dijk’s header in extra time gave Liverpool the victory in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, Jurgen Klopp won his ninth major prize as manager of Liverpool.
The Reds’ victory at Wembley, usually the least significant of the cups, took on greater significance for several reasons.
The triumph gave Liverpool a record-tying eleventh League Cup victory, and this Sunday’s match may be Klopp’s last at Wembley as Liverpool’s manager before he leaves this summer.
Despite having 11 first-team absentees due to injuries before the game, the Reds battled to triumph against the high-spending Chelsea. Ryan Gravenberch was added to the list when he was taken off the field on a stretcher in the first half after being challenged by Moises Caicedo.
In the absence of Liverpool’s more well-known players, “Klopp’s Kids” excelled, as three adolescents and seven other academy graduates contributed to the victory.
After the whistle, Klopp praised the victory and the importance of winning in the face of hardship, stating, “It is without a doubt the most memorable trophy I have ever won in more than 20 years.” It is very remarkable.
People often ask me whether I’m proud of things, and it can be difficult to respond. I wish I could feel proud of myself more often, but right now it feels incredibly overwhelming.
I was proud of everyone who was part of this: I was proud of our customers for pushing us, and I was proud of the staff for fostering an environment where these boys could just do what they do best.
“I was proud of a lot of things, including our academy and my coaches. It was entirely too much.
In any case, Klopp already considers the 2023–24 Carabao Cup final to be his favourite trophy yet, and it will undoubtedly go down in club (and global football) history.
But among all the significant awards the manager has received since joining Anfield, where should we place it?
7. Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup Final (5-4 Pens)
Honestly, it’s only the European Community Shield, so it’s not that important.
However, winning is still preferable to losing, especially when against Chelsea.
In an exciting match between the Reds and the Blues in Istanbul, Sadio Mane scored twice for the Champions League-winning team.
Following Adrian’s stoppage of Tammy Abraham by stand-in keeper Adrian, Jorginho’s extra-time penalty put Liverpool under pressure.
But in the shootout, Adrian turned from zero to hero status, tipping Abraham’s penalty to seal Liverpool’s win as all five of the Reds’ shooters found the net.
The finest memory of this championship win may not be the football or the accomplishment itself, but rather Klopp’s Rocky-style cry of “Adrian” during the post-match celebrations.
6. League Cup (2022): Liverpool defeats Chelsea 0-0 (pensions 11–10)
Until the very end, this last matchup between Chelsea and the other teams was maybe the most boring of all.
Joel Matip’s header in the second half was disallowed by VAR after it was determined that Virgil van Dijk had interfered with play during the build-up from an offside position. This would happen again two years later.
In extra time, Chelsea had two goals disallowed for offside, forcing the match to penalty kicks.
Liverpool did not miss, as they had in Istanbul three years earlier, making 11 of 11 conversions, one of which came from cup keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Kepa Arrizibalaga was substituted by Chelsea for the shootout, but the Spaniard was unable to match any of the Reds’ efforts (Fabinho and Van Dijk’s goals being particularly noteworthy). He then missed his decisive attempt, which handed Liverpool their ninth League Cup triumph. Funny, too.
5. Liverpool defeats Flamengo 1-0 in the 2019 Club World Cup Final (aet)
Granted, the European team is typically the overwhelming favourite, and the competition is somewhat frivolous overall, but — most importantly — Liverpool had never won the Club World Cup previously, losing to Sao Paulo in 2005.
The Reds’ campaign for the 2019 Club World Cup was strengthened by the fact that they had twice lost the Intercontinental Cup, the competition that preceded it in the 1980s.
With a League Cup encounter against Aston Villa scheduled the day before their semi-final match against Monterrey, Liverpool famously received no favours from their own country for participating in the competition.
In the end, the Reds’ youth team was defeated 2-1 by their Mexican opponents, but the adult team narrowly defeated them 2-1 with goals from Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita.
In a surprisingly ill-tempered final in Qatar, the Brazilian delivered once more, scoring in extra time to formally crown the Reds as global champions for the first time.
4. FA Cup (2022) Final: Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool 6–5 penalties
Frequently charged with treating Liverpool’s domestic cups with little dignity while putting the league and Europe first, Klopp responded in kind in 2022 as his team advanced far in every competition.
This trophy win was especially significant because it was the Reds’ first FA Cup victory in sixteen long years (the last being the 2006 ‘Gerrard final’).
In addition to pursuing an unprecedented quadruple at this stage, the Reds still had the Premier League and Champions League to contend with after winning the League Cup months earlier.
Liverpool’s domestic cup double was ultimately forgotten due to failure in the final two contests, but it is still a noteworthy accomplishment.
Liverpool won the eighth championship in the history of the world’s oldest cup competition when they faced Chelsea in penalty kicks.
With the winning spot kick, “Greek Scouser” Kostas Tsimikas solidified his legacy in Reds history, yet it was Alisson, not Kelleher, who emerged victorious in goal.
3. Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea in the League Cup (2024) final (aet)
‘Easily the most special prize’ of Klopp’s career, he said.
On any other day, Liverpool would have been overwhelming favourites to defeat Chelsea at Wembley, having defeated the team led by Mauricio Pochettino 4-1 at Anfield only one month prior.
But with every player on the injured list, the task at hand became much more difficult, and Klopp was forced to rely on his backup players and unproven youth stars.
The team that Liverpool assembled was excellent; Van Dijk gave the kind of performance that earns you a title in the finals; other standouts were Bradley, Wataru Endo, Kelleher, and many more.
To put things in perspective, Chelsea spent nearly £500 million on transfers, whereas the Liverpool starting lineup after the match cost only £150 million.
The best way to put it was with the classic Sky commentary line, “Klopp’s kids vs. the Blue billion-pound bottlejobs,” uttered by none other than Gary Neville.
2. 2019 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Final: Tottenham 2-0 Liverpool
Although many will always remember the final as the moment when Divock Origi scored the game-winning goal late on, Liverpool’s 2019 Champions League triumph will always be most closely linked to their incredible comeback against Barcelona in the semifinals – possibly the most memorable European night in their history.
After a daring but ultimately weak team advanced to the 2018 championship game earlier than expected, Klopp’s team reached a new height in 2019 and the age of dominance began.
Alisson and Fabinho, two important signings, raised the bar, and Mo Salah, who had been denied a year earlier, had the opportunity to seize it.
The Reds’ performances in the semifinals and championship game epitomised the two main tenets of Klopp teams: fortitude in the face of difficulty and the capacity to be brutal when it mattered most.
Liverpool Football Club and the European Cup are still inextricably linked, and Klopp’s 2019 victory to add a sixth chapter to the book alongside previous greats was an incredibly memorable occasion.
1. Premier League (2020).
It must be.
The goal was obvious when Klopp joined Liverpool in October 2015: to put the team back in the running for championships.
Since 1990, rivals Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and eventually Manchester City have had periods of dominance over the Reds, making their lack of league victory a source of frustration.
The wait was ultimately worthwhile.
It is impossible to overstate Liverpool’s success in 2019–20; the Reds won the Premier League with just two losses in their opening 27 games.
They ultimately ended 18 points ahead of City with 99 points, the second-highest total in top-flight history. Covid was no match for Jurgen’s Reds.
It is still Klopp’s greatest accomplishment as Liverpool’s manager, though he has time to surpass it.