"Just snatched his jacket" - Gary Neville says Liverpool star looked unhappy with Jurgen Klopp's decision during Carabao Cup final
Liverpool defeated Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday at Wembley Stadium. The match ended goalless in regulation time and in extra time. The penalty shootout went with a perfect scoreline before Kepa Arrizabalaga skied his effort.
During regulation time, in an effort to win the game, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp brought on substitutes in the 80th minute. Harvey Elliott, James Milner and Diogo Jota came on for Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane respectively.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville felt that Mane wasn't happy with the substitution. Commentating on the match, he said:
"Mane’s off. A little bit (surprised). I thought he would take Diaz off purely because I thought he would leave Mane and Salah on the pitch, not because Diaz deserves to go off. He has been fantastic. But he has made that decison. I mean, he’s not very happy, Mane. He has just snatched his jacket."
Luis Diaz was arguably the better player amongst the Reds' front three. Hence, taking him off would've been quite unfair. However, the Colombian did go off in extra time as he started showing signs of fatigue.
Liverpool and Chelsea play out one of the best goalless draws in the Carabao Cup final
While the scoreline at the end of extra time remained at 0-0, the match wasn't short of excitement to say the least. Both teams gave it their best and created several chances. Liverpool had 20 attempts on goal while Chelsea had 11.
As many as four goals were chalked off for offside in the match. Joel Matip, Kai Havertz (twice) and Romelu Lukaku all had their celebrations cut short due to offside. Mason Mount also had some incredible chances to finish off the game in regulation time, but he hit the post once and missed the others.
Both starting goalkeepers, Edouard Mendy and Caoimhin Kelleher, were on top of their games, too, with six and four big saves respectively. However, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel subbed in 'penalty specialist' Kepa Arrizabalaga in place of Mendy at the end of extra time.
It eventually came down to the goalkeepers in the penalty shootout as well, with all the onfield players scoring calmly. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he ended up missing his penalty.
Liverpool and Chelsea next face Norwich City and Luton Town respectively in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday.