Liverpool are League Cup winners 2022!
After a nail-biting encounter with Chelsea, the two sides couldn’t be separated after extra-time, drawing 0-0 despite a plethora of disallowed goals, with Kepa skying the Londoners’ 11th spot-kick to hand the Reds an 11-10 win on penalties.
With supporters watching through fingers both at Wembley and at home, they will have barely been able to look but could hardly turn away during the tensest of encounters at Wembley.
But while there was plenty going on during an action-packed 120 minutes at Anfield South, here’s some of the moments you might have missed during Jurgen Klopp’s side’s on-pitch celebrations.
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This sounds familiar?
Liverpool’s squad clearly have their favourites when it comes to music with a familiar playlist bursting out over the tannoys once their victory was confirmed.
The Reds danced around on the pitch to Dua Lipa’s One Kiss, Kanye West’s All of the Lights and Robin S’ Show Me Love in the aftermath of their League Cup win.
And eagled-eared supporters will have noticed it was the exact same playlist that was played following their Premier League win in 2020, ironically also after beating Chelsea, when they finally got their hands on the trophy.
Supporters weren’t allowed inside the stadium on that occasion due to the Coronavirus pandemic but they weren’t going to miss the action this time.
No fresh tunes on Reds’ victory playlist but it’s clear, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Tired Tsimikas
After a pulsating 120 minutes, you could forgive many of the Liverpool players for being a little tired after seeing off Chelsea.
But not unused substitute Kostas Tsimikas.
The Greek Scouser was the most energetic during the celebrations once he got hold of the trophy, repeating running into the corner and leaping into the air with it to the delight of the Reds fans that stayed behind.
Turning back to re-join his team-mates, he then darted back towards the watching supporters with them quickly spotting his u-turn and encouraging him further.
He repeated this celebration a number of times before passing the trophy on to team-mates, presumably a little tired after jumping into the air for the umpteenth time!
Better than Figo, don’t you know
The travelling Kop has a new favourite chant!
Diogo Jota’s new ditty was one of the most-sung at Wembley on Sunday, and supporters weren’t going to miss the opportunity for a final serenade during the trophy celebrations just as the players looked to return to the dressing room.
As “Oh, he wears the number 20!” rang out, the Portuguese took ownership of the trophy before jogging over to the fans behind the goal and holding it aloft.
The forward was admittedly not at his best against Chelsea, having only just come back from an ankle injury, but Reds won’t care.
And after Liverpool completed the first leg of an unprecedented quadruple, and now go in search of further silverware, Jota will inevitably have a big role to play with his new chant knocking off Virgil van Dijk and Roberto Firmino from the top of the travelling Reds’ own playlist.
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Hugs all around
Jurgen Klopp’s hugs are famous but he wasn’t the only one at it after the final whistle as Liverpool celebrated their victory.
Vice-captain James Milner made a bee-line for press officer Matt McCann to give him the biggest of cuddles while he tried to perform media duties alongside the pitch-side interviews.
But he was not the only surprise figure feeling cuddly.
Harvey Elliott would have inevitably been disappointed to have been left out of Jurgen Klopp’s initial matchday squad at Wembley, but Thiago Alcantara’s warm-up injury gave him a late revival.
Brought on for Jordan Henderson, the 18-year-old became the youngest player to feature in a final for Liverpool in the process.
And with a Reds flag draped around his shoulders, he shared a hug with Linda Pizutti, wife of club owner John W. Henry, when leaving the pitch and returning to the dressing room.
Trent’s trophy
With the players’ celebrations down, the League Cup trophy was handed over to John W. Henry, Linda Pizutti and Tom Werner for their own pitchside pictures.
However, there was one player who hadn’t finished wanting snaps with the trophy as he patiently waited for his bosses to finish posing before reclaiming his latest piece of silverware.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was the player tasked with reclaiming the trophy from Pizutti, posing for a couple of pictures himself with friends and family, before retreating to the dressing room with the League Cup.
Lijnders’ lock-in
But that wasn’t to be the last Liverpool fans saw of the League Cup trophy on Sunday night!
For a lucky few who had stayed inside Wembley for the entire celebrations, they were greeted by the sight of Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz coming back out onto the pitch to pose for a couple of pictures with the cup.
And Liverpool’s number two also made sure to head over to the remaining fans and let a lucky few get a close-up look at the League Cup themselves.
Konate chokes
Playing in his first major final for Liverpool, Ibrahima Konate was handed the intimidating task of having to keep Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner quiet when he came on at the end of the 90 minutes.
Fortunately the Frenchman was up to the challenge, ensuring the Reds kept hold of their clean sheet before emphatically scoring their 10th penalty in the shootout.
But while the 22-year-old did anything but joke, it was a rather different story in the Royal Box during the trophy lift!
As confetti rained down on the Liverpool squad, the defender ended up with a couple of pieces in his mouth, much to the amusement of Andy Robertson, and heavily batted them off his tongue before continuing with the celebrations.
Minamino gets a push
Takumi Minamino might not have played a part in the final, but he played his part in Liverpool's victory.
Indeed, the Japan international's stunning last-minute equaliser against Leicester in the quarter-final at Anfield kept Liverpool in the cup and he scored in previous rounds at Norwich and Preston.
So his team-mates were keen to ensure he got the reception he deserved at Wembley.
Handed the cup by Kostas Tsimikas, Minamino was pushed in the direction of the away fans by Virgil van DIjk, Joel Matip and Jordan Henderson.
It was a nice moment and well deserved.
