Carabao Cup final: Pochettino reveals how Chelsea have improved since Liverpool beatdown
i

Mauricio Pochettino takes his Chelsea team into Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Liverpool in much-improved form (Credit: Imago/News Images)

Carabao Cup final: Pochettino reveals how Chelsea have improved since Liverpool beatdown

Seye Omidiora 15:22 - 23.02.2024

Ahead of Sunday's League Cup final, the Chelsea head coach has given insight into his team’s response since losing heavily to Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield in January.

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has praised his young side’s reaction to their 4-1 Premier League beatdown by Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final rematch at Wembley Stadium. The Argentine manager saw his team lose heavily at Anfield on January 31 before following that with an embarrassing 4-2 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Carabao Cup final: What Pochettino said ahead of Chelsea vs Liverpool

Speaking to the press ahead of Sunday’s decider at Wembley, the Chelsea boss extolled his team for their renewed competitiveness after both defeats.

“It is true that the mood is different,” the Chelsea boss told the media on Friday. “You always learn from the games you play. We arrive in this final in different circumstances from the past, and what you learn is that Liverpool are a competitive team, and we need to match that competitiveness.

“We need to be competitive; we need to manage some moments during the games and in the last few weeks we have learned a lot. We arrive with momentum and in very good condition and after performances against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City, it provided the team with the confidence and the trust.

"The team is now aware of the competition, and it was a catalyst to change the way we compete. It was something we were missing in the first half of the season, and the circumstances are different and Sunday will be different because it is a final and it is at Wembley.”

Chelsea and Liverpool battle in rematch of 2022 Carabao Cup final

Sunday’s meeting at Wembley brings Chelsea and Liverpool face to face again, having battled in the 2022 final at the Home of Football.

Jurgen Klopp’s men won the game after an extended penalty shootout, with Kepa Arrizabalaga firing wildly off-target after Caoimhin Kelleher netted from 12 yards, seeing the Reds win 11-10 on penalties after it ended 0-0 following 120 minutes.

Carabao Cup final
Chelsea lost the 2022 Carabao Cup final against Liverpool after Kepa's penalty miss (Credit: Imago/Uk Sports Pics Ltd)

Liverpool claimed the FA Cup decider against Chelsea months later, a game again decided by a shootout.

What do Chelsea play for after Carabao Cup final?

Apart from Premier League football, Pochettino’s men are still in the FA Cup, with Chelsea hosting Leeds United on February 28 before travelling to Brentford at the start of March.

Tough matches against Newcastle United, title-contending Arsenal and Manchester United follow over the coming weeks, and a meeting at Aston Villa in April is the final game against a side battling for a Champions League spot.