Kepa Arrizabalaga has a curious history with penalty shootouts and the League Cup final. Three years ago, he refused to be substituted for Willy Caballero before penalties. It was an act that, at the time, was largely seen as petulance, particularly as Chelsea then lost to Manchester City, although it later emerged that the coach Maurizio Sarri had thought he was suffering from a significant injury.
On Sunday he was brought on as a penalty specialist just before the end of extra time. His record from penalties is much better than that of Édouard Mendy, but Mendy had had a fine game and earlier this month had played for Senegal as it won the Africa Cup of Nations by beating Egypt in a penalty shootout. As it turned out, Kepa didn’t save a single one of the 11 penalties Liverpool ended up taking and then smashed his own kick high over the bar to end the penalty shootout at 11-10, following a goalless match.
For Liverpool it was a record ninth League Cup success, and a first victory in a domestic cup competition in England for Jürgen Klopp. For Chelsea, whose form has been wobbling despite its success in the Club World Cup earlier this month, defeat added to the sense of unease around the club, much of which has little to do with football.
