Liverpool 'narrative' around Carabao Cup final win vs Chelsea destroyed by one surprising stat

A surprising stat has destroyed the narrative that emerged after Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.

Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final on Sunday, with captain Virgil van Dijk scoring scoring deep into extra-time to secure the trophy.

Liverpool were without the likes of Alisson, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai due to injury, meaning Jurgen Klopp had to rely on seven academy graduates to help the team to victory.

Caoimhin Kelleher, Harvey Elliott and Conor Bradley were named in the starting XI, while inexperienced quadruple Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns, Jarell Quansah and James McConnell came off the bench as the match progressed.

Lewis Koumas and 16-year-old Trey Nyoni were unused substitutes.

For a group of young players to win a major trophy is mightily impressive, especially when their opponent on the day was one of the most expensively assembled teams in history.

Chelsea have spent over £1 billion on new signings since Todd Boehly completed his takeover of the club less than two years ago, but they were unable to make their talent and experience count at Wembley.

The apparent mis-match in squads has given rise to the narrative that Liverpool's kids defied the odds to secure a fairytale victory against a team of superstar talents.

The catchy soundbite - "In extra-time it's been Klopp's kids against the blue, billion-pound bottlejobs" - that Gary Neville came out with live on air during Sky Sports' coverage of the game helped to build that narrative.

Van Dijk scored a late winner in the Carabao Cup final (Getty)

However, the truth is that Liverpool's team at Wembley was actually older than Chelsea's.

The average age of the Liverpool starting XI was 25.8 years, while Chelsea's was only 23.9.

Even after Klopp turned to the youngsters on the bench, his side still had the edge.

By the end of extra-time, Liverpool had an average age of 24.1 compared to Chelsea's 22.6.

Neville's Sky Sports colleague Jamie Carragher added to the delirium when he claimed that the result "shows that football isn’t all about money."

The winning goal was scored by a centre-back who cost Liverpool £75 million in 2018, a world record fee for a defender at the time.

Liverpool have rightly been commended for their achievement, but the idea that 'kids' won is simply not true.

Topics: Liverpool, Chelsea, Carabao Cup, Virgil Van Dijk, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Todd Boehly

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton