Above all, Liverpool’s victory in the Carabao Cup final was about the club’s young players. Under extraordinary circumstances, with so many key players injured, Jurgen Klopp had no choice but to deploy his young talents from the academy.
For most young players, coming in to play at Wembley in a major final would have been a struggle. But these Liverpool players never looked fazed by the occasion. They seemed to thrive under the pressure.
Thrown into the deep-end, the young Liverpool stars played a key role in contributing to the Reds’ success. They absolutely helped establish control for Liverpool in extra-time, and made a very positive account of themselves.
James McConnell and Bobby Clark were both excellent. But Jayden Danns deserves his own special praise as well. The 18-year-old has been described among a group of players by Jurgen Klopp as ‘special’ recently, and he showed that at Wembley. Danns caused Chelsea’s defence plenty of problems and was unlucky not to score, as Klopp said it himself.
Jayden Danns making history
The fact that Jayden Danns had only played a few minutes of senior football prior to this appearance speaks volumes of his talent. By coming on at Wembley, Danns not only made an indelible impression but he also wrote his name into the history books.
According to Michaeil Reid from Opta, Danns was only the second player in Liverpool history to make one of his first two appearances in a major cup final for the club. The first was Ian Rush, who made his second appearance in the League Cup final replay for Liverpool back in 1981 against West Ham United.
Rush went onto become Liverpool’s all time top-scorer, and won countless trophies during his two separate spells at Anfield. Even if Danns can continue half of what Rush has achieved, he will have an extremely bright future ahead of him.
Next up for the 18-year-old will now likely be an FA Cup game at Anfield against Southampton on Wednesday night.
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