Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink caused a stir on Sunday when he claimed Chelsea defender Thiago Silva was better than his Liverpool counter-part Virgil van Dijk on the ball.
The former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink was analysing the Carabao Cup final between the two teams, which Liverpool won at the end of a dramatic penalty shootout, when he made the claim.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “I think sometimes Van Dijk kicks it out while Silva wouldn’t, he finds a solution.”
His statement left fellow pundits and former Liverpool players Jamie Redknapp and Jamie Carragher aghast. “Come on, Jimmy, he’s your fellow countryman!” Redknapp said of the Dutch centre-back.
“Hold on guys,” Hasslebaink responded. “I love Virgil Van Dijk. I know you’re a Liverpool fan,” he said to Carragher, before adding: “Silva, top class. Van Dijk, top class. Silva, a little bit better on the ball.”
Silva and Van Dijk were both exceptional and two key reasons why the Wembley showpiece ended goalless.
Afterwards Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel insisted Kepa Arrizabalaga should not shoulder any burden for Chelsea’s 11-10 penalty shootout loss.
Spain stopper Kepa came off the bench in the closing stages of extra time specifically for the shoot-out, but would not have expected to step up to strike from the spot himself. A stunning set of penalties left both keepers having to shoot at goal, however, and Kepa proved a luckless fall guy when blazing high over the bar.
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher had drilled a fine penalty into the net to heap the pressure on Kepa, and he came up just short at the very last.
“Do you think we do this and don’t talk to the players? The players know the plan and we have done it before,” said Tuchel. “If you want to blame somebody, blame me; this is not a problem.
“I take the decisions and I don’t take them to try to be the hero. Today it took 11 penalties to find the winner. And if you want to blame anyone blame me, there’s no problem.”
