Of his many sayings, one of Jurgen Klopp’s favourites is “We’re Liverpool, of course we do it the hard way!”
What’s the German for ‘you’re not wrong Kaiser’? Ok, maybe not the last bit, but you get the drift. This wasn’t just the hard way, it was the most tortuous, ridiculous, excruciating way to win a trophy. But boy it was beautiful.
And Klopp must take immense credit for it, not just in his ability to adjust the gameplan to accommodate the loss of the influential Thiago in the warm up, but to stick to his principles, even with an important piece of silverware on the line.
It would have been so easy to put Allison back in goal for the final, even though he has not played in the competition this season. Easy, and logical.
Yet the Liverpool manager said it would be immoral not to give Caoimhin Kelleher his Wembley moment, not to let him finish the job he has performed so heroically in the EFL Cup.
Who was Liverpool's best player vs Chelsea? Have your say in the comments below.
It was Kelleher who got them through another excruciating contest in the quarter final when his heroics delivered a tense shoot-out victory over Leicester. It was Kelleher who posted notice throughout the competition he is a fine keeper in the making.
Here - spectacularly - Klopp’s unshakable faith, his belief in his young players and the conviction of his principles were repaid in the best possible way…even if it was the hardest way.
They were far from their best in this final, a long way from the compelling pressing demons who blow sides away. Mo Salah was not the ice-veined destroyer he has been all season.
But they dug in, survived three Chelsea ‘goals’, all ruled out for offside, and survived some big, big chances against them. They survived, in part thanks to their young goalkeeper, who grew into a colossus on this wonderful Wembley evening.
He kept his team in it with some brilliant saves; from Mason Mount early on, most notably - most impossibly - from Romelu Lukaku right at the end, when Chelsea truly thought they’d won it.
And even after that, even after proving himself and justifying Klopp with that impossibly calm, mature performance, he still found some inner resolve to hold his nerve in the shoot out.
This is a 23 year old with only 17 senior appearances, remember. A kid who has had to sit on his backside on the bench and marvel at the genius of Alisson.
And yet with both sides converting their first 10 penalties, Liverpool’s fate in this final was not left in his hands…but in his right boot.
Imagine the pressure, imagine what was going through his mind. Yet Klopp has always maintained the Irish keeper’s temperament is his biggest asset, his cool a serious weapon in his goalkeeping armoury.
He showed it throughout the 120 minutes, and then when it really mattered, he produced quite possibly the best penalty of the night.
When Kepa missed, his glory was complete, and one of the first people to embrace him? Alisson. A touching moment.
Klopp’s elation was touching too. He has had a horrible drought in domestic cup competitions, since winning his first and only German Cup 10 years ago. A curse some say.
He could have taken the easy choice in trying to break that curse, but instead took the courageous one. And the joy at the end told you every single one of his players knew he is not only a truly great manager, but a great man.
