The first trophy of the English season was claimed on Sunday, and in some style, as Chelsea andLiverpool played out a Carabao Cup final for the ages at Wembley. The sides combined to put the ball in the back of the net on four occasions, only for the flag to go up after each instance. 120 minutes passed without a hitch.
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Mendy and Kelleher were the main reasons why. They were superb, each keeping their team in the contest. The keepers would decide this final.
Mendy was replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga in the final moments of extra-time. Kepa skyed his effort over the bar to give the Reds an 11-10 victory in the penalty shootout.
What can we learn from Sunday's epic game? The contest was broken down from both perspectives by Mark Ogden and James Olley.
LiverpoolHe has won five trophies as a manager. He could add three more and create history by becoming the first English team to achieve a quadruple of the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League in the same year.
With so many games still to play, achieving a clean sweep of competitions seems to be a huge challenge, but the Carabao Cup penalty shootout triumph against Chelsea means that the Reds are already a quarter of the way towards an unprecedented achievement.
In 1999, Sir Alex Ferguson's team won the league, FA Cup and European Championship, and it remains the high-water mark in the English game. Manchester City won all three domestic trophies in the same year, but nobody has ever come close to a quadruple.
The opportunity to do it has been given to them by winning the Carabao Cup for the ninth time.
They rode their luck in this game. The first half had two clear chances for Christian and Mason to score, but they missed them. Kai Havertz had two goals ruled out for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, while Romelu Lukaku's goal was also ruled out for being in the wrong place.
Despite the chances created by the other team, and their own failure to create enough opportunities, they still found a way to win the trophy. They can still win the other three contests.
With a game in hand and a trip to the Etihad still to come in April, it appears the biggest mountain to climb in the weeks ahead, but having been 12 points behind City earlier this month, it is now just six behind. There is little margin for error in the league, but they have put themselves back in the race.
The fifth round of the FA Cup will be played on Wednesday, with the winner going on to play in the final. You can stream live on Disney+. They will have three victories from their first FA Cup since 2006 if they win that.
The competition that the Reds have won more times than any other English club is the Champions League. They will not fear any of the other clubs in the quarterfinals if they win the second leg against Internazionale on March 8. They will believe they can win it again this season because they know how to progress and succeed in the competition.
Winning all four trophies will require luck, as well as the fitness of key players. It has been a good season for the Reds in that respect. They have had few disruptive injuries and added a new player in January.
Diogo Jota continues to deliver with goals and assists, while Diaz has already impressed. In the game against Chelsea, Kelleher made a number of important saves to prove his quality as Alisson's understudy.
The depth of the squad will push hard for all four trophies. It may come down to City blocking their path in everything they want to win, but after securing the Carabao Cup, they have three months to win another three trophies and make history.
Mark Ogden.
ChelseaKepa's habit of deciding penalty shootouts is the best thing that can be said for him.
The decision to allow Kepa to blast the 22nd and final penalty over the bar was clearly at odds with the logic behind it. Mendy was a strong favourite to be named man of the match, and he had done enough to earn his place in the goal for the shoot out.
The tactic of subbing on Kepa has worked before. In the Super Cup final, Tuchel made the same change and Kepa saved two penalties to win the game.
Kepa has saved more penalties than any other player in the history of the club. The internal data shows Kepa is a better shot-skeptic than Mendy, even if Mendy saved a spot kick in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
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The change felt counter-productive. There were a number of factors that contributed to this hugely entertaining final being denied a single goal in two hours of football. Mendy was the biggest influence on this final, justifying his selection ahead of Kepa from the beginning.
Kepa had played every match on the road to Wembley, and the club have been impressed with the improvements he has made in his game in recent months. According to sources, if there was any doubt over whether Kepa will be encouraged to leave this summer, this Wembley showpiece removed it.
Three years ago, Kepa refused to be taken out of the Carabao Cup final minutes before a penalty shootout. Kepa will not miss this competition if he leaves England at the end of the season.
This cruel storyline distracted from the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, a situation that feels uncomfortably close to the club after Russian owner Roman Abramovich announced his intention to pass stewardship of the club to the club's trustees on Saturday evening. The English national anthem was booed by the crowd at the end of the game, but the plight of Kepa was alleviated by the end of the game.
If Mendy had ended the game before Kepa started, they would have won the game in a penalty shoot out.
Kepa never looked like saving any of the penalties. Even though he was standing to the left of the centre, van Dijk still smashed his effort to that side of the goal, beating his opponent with ease. Kepa was not brought on to take a penalty, but after 20 successful conversions, he could not match the mature manner in which Kelleher delivered the ball at his feet.
It's tempting to conclude that Tuchel thought this was a good idea.
I feel bad for Kepa but he has more time on the training ground for penalties than Edu.
No regrets, I take the blame. I take the responsibility.
After the trophy was lifted, the players went to the dressing room. Mendy was the last to leave. The outcome might have been different if he had been allowed to stay longer in the game.
James Olley.
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