Liverpool FA Cup final hero Kostas Tsimikas has revealed he asked Jurgen Klopp if he could take the team's seventh penalty in the shootout success over Chelsea - and promised the Reds would ‘celebrate hard’.
Tsimikas netted the winning spot kick after Alisson had smartly saved from Mason Mount to give Liverpool a 6-5 penalty shootout victory.
And the Greece international confirmed afterwards he had requested his place in the pecking order for penalties during a chat with Reds boss Klopp before the shootout.
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“It’s very, very special for me,” Tsimikas told BBC Sport. “The manager asked me which number I want. I say, 'number seven'. He asks me, 'why so far?' I say, 'I want number seven'. And number seven gave me the opportunity to win the game.
"I choose the right side and I score. And I am very happy with that. We want to win. Our goal from the start of the season was to go for it, hopefully at the end we are happy."
Tsimikas has made 25 appearances this season, including five during Liverpool's successful FA Cup run. On Saturday, he replaced Andy Robertson during extra-time, which ended with the scoreline still at 0-0.
And the player affectionately known at the 'Greek Scouser' sparked jubilant scenes for Reds fans at Wembley as he wheeled away in celebration after slotting the winning penalty past Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, whose save from Sadio Mane had taken the shootout to sudden death..
Tsimikas was visibly delighted at his role in the cup triumph but insisted the hard work is not yet done as Liverpool continue their quest for an unprecedented quadruple. He said: “We gave it absolutely everything. Big congratulations to the boys. We have to celebrate hard. But tomorrow is the next day, we still have a lot to do. We have the games in the Premier League and we have the big final."
