The Reds are eager to take their League Cup triumph and look to the next challenge, but Jordan Henderson took one last glance back to herald what was “Liverpool Football Club at its very best.”
It’s been only three days since Jurgen Klopp and his side lifted the club’s first domestic cup trophy in 10 years, but another game is already upon us.
This time it is in the FA Cup with Norwich the visitors as Liverpool aim to keep their hopes for another domestic trophy alive, one that will be fueled by Sunday’s success.
And while all eyes are on getting the job done at Anfield, Henderson had one last word to share in his programme notes on Wednesday after a win that was defined by “togetherness and trust”:
“As a club and as a group of players we don’t like to dwell on past victories because the challenge is always to secure new ones, but there are also times when you have to make an exception and this is definitely one of them.
“Where to begin, though? How do you put into words what happened? I’m no wordsmith and there will be plenty who will say it and write it much better than I ever could, but for me, everything that took place from start to finish captured Liverpool Football Club at its very best.
“There were moments when we suffered. Periods of the game when Chelsea were on top and we had to roll with the punches.
“At times, our football could have been better and at others, we felt the kind of stresses that only come when two top sides are giving as good as they get with the stakes as high as they can be.
“That’s what makes the outcome so special, though. Cups aren’t given out, they have to be earned and on Sunday every single player in red – those who got onto the pitch and those who didn’t – every member of the backroom staff and every supporter did their bit. If ever a victory was earned by togetherness and trust, it was this one.
“I mention trust because I think it was the crucial factor. From the gaffer trusting Caoimhin Kelleher to us trusting one another when the game went to penalties, every bit of faith paid off. It was the same with the fans, who never once wavered and helped push us over the line by keeping on believing in us and backing us all the way.”
And there was also a special one for Caoimhin Kelleher and the culture that has allowed the young goalkeeper to thrive at the club.
“It was a club win because everyone played his or her part, but I would like to single out Caoimhin and not just because he was the match-winning hero either,” Henderson adds.
“I think the way he has conducted himself since being given the opportunity to start regularly in the Carabao Cup is an example to all young professionals and all squad players. He literally couldn’t have done any better.
“He deserves much of the credit for this of course, but a share must also go to the other ’keepers at Liverpool, particularly Alisson, who is never anything other than generous and supportive of his teammates, because they have created a competitive culture which helps bring out the best in all of them.
“The same goes for the manager and the coaching staff for believing in Caoimhin and giving him chances to develop and prove himself. So too the coaches at the Academy who brought him along, investing time, effort and energy into his progress until he was good enough to take the next step.
“It really is a brilliant story and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer lad. Seeing him with the trophy at Wembley was a massive highlight for all of us, right up there with the lads dancing to Dua Lipa with our fans. Those scenes will live with me forever.”
Now to ensure it’s not the only time we’ll have scenes of celebration like that this season!
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