Premier League giant Liverpool have lifted their first trophy of the season at the EFL final after beating rival side Chelsea 1-0 in extra time.
Virgil van Dijk stepped up as the player with the crucial header to give Liverpool their 10th English League Cup trophy on Sunday.
The center-back’s goal in the 28th minute of extra time sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea at Wembley after the game had ended 0-0 in regulation.
“You should always savor the good moments, this is definitely one of them,” Van Dijk said. “I’m so proud, proud to be part of this club and especially proud of the boys.”
Jurgen Klopp who is set to leave the club after this season would not leave empty-handed.
Liverpool currently leads the Premier League table and is still in contention for the FA Cup and Europa League.
Klopp used seven players who were aged 21 or under.
“What happened here was absolutely insane, these things are not possible. The team, a squad, an academy full of character. I am so proud I could be part of that tonight,” he said. “The craziest thing is we deserved it. We had lucky moments, they had lucky moments. The boys showed up, it was really cool.”
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was hoping to win his first major trophy in England.
“They (the players) are professional. They need to feel the pain. We played for a trophy we didn’t get. They need to feel the pain like us,” Pochettino said. “The players feel the disappointment because we were so close to winning the game after 90 minutes.”
