Liverpool are hoping to lift their 11th League Cup on Sunday as the Reds take on Newcastle at Wembley.
The final of the cup competition is a stage the Merseyside club knows very well having competed for the Carabao Cup 14 times and winning 10 of those shows the task Newcastle have on their hands.
The latest came last season as Jurgen Klopp’s squad defied the odds to help the legendary coach end his time on Merseyside with a trophy.
Liverpool entered that contest with Chelsea without Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, while Ryan Gravenberch then had to be taken off before the half-hour mark.
Remembering that final, Dominik Szoboszlai recalls what he said to Darwin Nunez before Virgil van Dijk’s goal helped a young Liverpool team over the line at Wembley.
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Dominik Szoboszlai’s words to Darwin Nunez before Carabao Cup final winner
Klopp labelled Liverpool’s 2024 Carabao Cup success as “one of the most special games” he has ever been involved in due to the circumstances in which they beat Chelsea.
All the injuries resulted in the German having to play youngsters against a very expensive Chelsea team and they held their own before Van Dijk popped up with a 118-minute winner in extra-time.
Recalling that moment, Szoboszlai has revealed that he told an injured Nunez that they were going to run if the Reds scored from the corner.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
Speaking to Liverpool.com about the winning moment in the 2024 Carabao Cup final, the Hungarian star said: “Me and Darwin just said, ‘If he scores now, we run inside.’ We totally forgot about our injuries! But we were really happy.”
That moment was arguably Liverpool’s best from the 2023/24 campaign and the images of an injured Nunez spriting will always be remembered by fans of the Merseyside giants.
Having missed out on the EFL Cup final last season, Szoboszlai will hope to have an impact this year and the Hungarian star has shared how the Reds are feeling heading into the Wembley showpiece.
Liverpool are ‘ready to fight’ for the 2025 Carabao Cup
Having suffered a defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, Paul Merson believes Newcastle have an advantage over Liverpool heading into the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Arne Slot also lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury ahead of the Reds’ trip to Wembley and despite these setbacks, Szoboszlai has stated that Liverpool are ready to fight on Sunday.
“We are ready to fight,” the midfielder told Liverpool.com. “You never know who is going to play, but it doesn’t matter on our side who is playing in midfield – everybody is ready to fight and everybody is ready to give everything for the team.
“It’s a final, so you go in a different way into the game. But as I said, it doesn’t matter who is playing. The most important [thing] is that everybody’s goal is the same.
“I know it’s always easy to say if you’re playing to the guys who are not playing so much, ‘Yeah, just focus on the team because the team is the most important’, that’s true.
“But I have been in the situation also and it’s not the easiest way, but you have to keep going, you have to handle it, your time will come.”
This was evident in last season’s Carabao Cup final as Liverpool’s young stars stepped up, with Arne Slot hoping for a similar result on Sunday.