Liverpool won its fourth UEFA Super Cup title this Wednesday in Istanbul. The Reds were better than Chelsea after 120 minutes plus the penalties. After the regular 90 minutes, the result was 1-1, one goal on each side has been seen in the extra times, and the match had to go to the penalties to decide the winner.
All five of Liverpool’s players have hit the back of Kepa’s net, while on Chelsea’s side, only Tammy Abraham missed his strike. The youngster’s attempt was stopped by the Red’s reserve goalkeeper Adrian, whose night went from the bottom to becoming the hero of the match.
“Welcome to Liverpool. It was a crazy week. I am happy for the team. I am happy to get a trophy. I am really happy for the fans,”
stated Adrian, who replaced the injured Alisson.
With Liverpool leading 2-1, a few minutes after they scored a goal, Adrian was late for one ball and brought down Abraham. The first female ever to judge one final of the European football competitions, Stephanie Frappart had no doubts – she pointed towards the penalty spot.
Jorginho didn’t lose his calmness, and he routinely executed the penalty.
Five minutes before that, Sadio Mane scored his second goal of the match, following Firmino’s excellent pass.
The game was opened better by Liverpool’s team, and Klopp set an offensive and aggressive approach which pressured Chelsea right from the start. But the Blues have adapted to it after some time, and became very comfortable on the pitch of Vodafone Park in Istanbul.
They had a few chances to score first, and the best one was from Pedro, when the former Barcelona star hit the bar. Eventually, that paid off, with Olivier Giroud breaking the ice in the 36th minute. It was the result of the first halftime, in which Chelsea had more chances, but Liverpool had opportunities to strike also.
Jurgen Klopp brought in Roberto Firminho during the break, and that was a jackpot from Liverpool’s coach. The Brazilian international found Sadio Mane right after the start of the second halftime, and the Senegalese player leveled the score without any problems.
The result of the regular 90 minutes was 1-1, but it could have been different, as Chelsea had more chances and was better. Frank Lampard’s boys have shown excellent football, and didn’t deserve to lose. Still, the luck wasn’t on their side, and that is what Lampard said.
“It was a tough game against a good Liverpool team that had extra time to recover after the weekend. But sometimes football comes down to little moments of luck.”
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp said that he wasn’t sure that the challenge on Abraham deserved to be a penalty.
“Nobody in the stadium wanted extra time, it was a killer. I’m not sure about the penalty but who cares now.”
There is no time for celebration, as the Reds travel to Southampton this Saturday, to face Saints. Meanwhile, Chelsea hosts Leicester City at home.
