Kepa Arrizabalaga missed the decisive penalty for ChelseaLiverpool won a dramatic penalty shoot-out to secure the first domestic trophy of the season after a classic Carabao Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, brought on in the closing moments of extra time as a penalty specialist, missed the decisive spot-kick after a magnificent game came down to a shoot-out between Chelsea's keeper and his Liverpool counterpart Caoimhin Kelleher.
Kelleher made it 11 penalties from 11 for Liverpool but Kepa blazed wildly over the top as a high-class showpiece was decided by the finest of margins after 21 successful attempts.
Chelsea, who had three goals disallowed for offside, were left to rue two big misses by Mason Mount but they were also grateful for a magnificent display from keeper Edouard Mendy, who produced a string of outstanding saves.
Liverpool created a host of chances and had a Joel Matip goal ruled out for a foul and offside in an incident-packed game that went right down to the wire before Jurgen Klopp's side prevailed, for a record ninth League Cup success.
Kelleher rewards Klopp's faith
Caoimhin Kelleher made a number of fine saves during the 120 minutes and then scored his penaltyManager Jurgen Klopp made it clear as soon as Liverpool reached Wembley that Kelleher would retain his place as the Reds' goalkeeper in this competition ahead of first-choice Alisson.
It was a decision laced with an element of risk but the 23-year-old repaid Klopp with a complete performance that included scoring Liverpool's 11th and final penalty.
This was a small element of a remarkably assured performance that started with a crucial early save from Christian Pulisic and also saw him deny Chelsea a last-gasp win with a near-post block from Romelu Lukaku in the closing seconds of extra time.
Kelleher was composed in every aspect of his game as he dominated his area and handled everything that came his way, confirming his growing reputation as a goalkeeper of high promise.
Liverpool had to go all the way to win this trophy for the first time since 2012.
Klopp was forced into a late reshuffle after a tearful Thiago Alcantara was injured in the warm-up, drafting in Naby Keita as a late replacement.
Liverpool traded near misses with Chelsea as both teams refused to take a backward step and it was right that only penalties could separate the sides after an outstanding Wembley occasion.
This is the first domestic cup Jurgen Klopp has won as Liverpool bossChelsea rue Mount misses
Mount will have a sleepless night after this EFL Cup final after missing two glorious chances either side of half-time that could have proved pivotal.
He somehow steered wide with the goal at his mercy just before the interval then, with time and space to spare, struck a finish against the post with Kelleher badly exposed.
On such small details this game was decided, although Chelsea will also look back on the most marginal of offside decisions that saw substitute Lukaku have a goal disallowed.
Manager Thomas Tuchel took an understandable gamble when he sent on Kepa in the final moments in the hope he would live up to his reputation as a penalty expert but he could not stop 11 spot-kicks from Liverpool before sending his own effort horribly high into the celebrating supporters behind Kelleher's goal.
Tuchel may wonder whether he should have kept the unbeatable Mendy on for penalties after his heroic performance but it is easy to be wise after the event and Kepa has proved his quality from penalties in the past.
There can be no complaints about the quality and effort in Chelsea's performance other than the failure to take the chances that came their way.
They demonstrated they belong in the Premier League's elite company alongside Liverpool and Manchester City and no-one would dismiss their chances of making amends for this disappointment by winning a different piece of silverware this season.
Player of the match
KelleherCaoimhin Kelleher
Chelsea
Squad number16Player nameMendy
Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
Squad number7Player nameKanté
Squad number2Player nameRüdiger
Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Squad number24Player nameJames
Squad number3Player nameAlonso
Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
Squad number19Player nameMount
Squad number10Player namePulisic
Squad number9Player nameLukaku
Squad number11Player nameWerner
Squad number5Player nameJorginho
Squad number1Player nameArrizabalaga
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 3-4-2-1
16Mendy
14Chalobah6Thiago Silva2Rüdiger
28Azpilicueta7Kanté8Kovacic3Alonso
19Mount10Pulisic
29Havertz
16MendySubstituted forArrizabalagaat 120'minutes14Chalobah6Thiago Silva2Rüdiger28AzpilicuetaSubstituted forJamesat 57'minutes7KantéBooked at 99mins8KovacicBooked at 90minsSubstituted forJorginhoat 105'minutes3Alonso19MountSubstituted forLukakuat 74'minutes10PulisicSubstituted forWernerat 74'minutes29HavertzBooked at 105minsSubstitutes
1Arrizabalaga5Jorginho9Lukaku11Werner12Loftus-Cheek17Saúl20Hudson-Odoi24James31SarrLiverpool
Formation 4-3-3
62Kelleher
66Alexander-Arnold32Matip4van Dijk26Robertson
14Henderson3Fabinho8Keïta
11Salah10Mané23Díaz
62Kelleher66Alexander-ArnoldBooked at 105mins32MatipSubstituted forKonatéat 90'minutes4van Dijk26Robertson14HendersonSubstituted forElliottat 79'minutes3Fabinho8KeïtaSubstituted forMilnerat 80'minutes11Salah10ManéSubstituted forJotaat 80'minutes23DíazSubstituted forOrigiat 97'minutesSubstitutes
1Alisson5Konaté7Milner15Oxlade-Chamberlain18Minamino20Jota21Tsimikas27Origi67ElliottReferee:Stuart AttwellAttendance:85,512Live Text
Match ends, Chelsea 0(10), Liverpool 0(11).
Penalty Shootout ends, Chelsea 0(10), Liverpool 0(11).
Penalty missed! Bad penalty by Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) right footed shot is too high. Kepa Arrizabalaga should be disappointed.
Goal! Chelsea 0(10), Liverpool 0(11). Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the high centre of the goal.
Goal! Chelsea 0(10), Liverpool 0(10). Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Goal! Chelsea 0(9), Liverpool 0(10). Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Goal! Chelsea 0(9), Liverpool 0(9). Thiago Silva (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(8), Liverpool 0(9). Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(8), Liverpool 0(8). Timo Werner (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(7), Liverpool 0(8). Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(7), Liverpool 0(7). N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(6), Liverpool 0(7). Divock Origi (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Goal! Chelsea 0(6), Liverpool 0(6). Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Goal! Chelsea 0(5), Liverpool 0(6). Diogo Jota (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Goal! Chelsea 0(5), Liverpool 0(5). Jorginho (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(4), Liverpool 0(5). Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top right corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(4), Liverpool 0(4). Reece James (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(3), Liverpool 0(4). Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(3), Liverpool 0(3). Kai Havertz (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Goal! Chelsea 0(2), Liverpool 0(3). Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
