Sports
Liverpool Win League Cup As Van Dijk Strikes Late To Sink Chelsea
![](https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Liverpool-Win-League-Cup.jpg)
Liverpool players pose with the trophy after the English League Cup final football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley stadium, in London, on February 25, 2024. Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal deep into extra-time as Liverpool won the League Cup for a record tenth time. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
Liverpool won the League Cup in dramatic fashion as Virgil van Dijk’s header late in extra-time sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s injury-hit side finished a gruelling clash with a host of raw youngsters on the pitch, but it was their experienced captain who clinched the club’s 10th League Cup triumph.
Van Dijk earlier had a goal controversially disallowed by VAR, but the Dutch defender pounced to nod home with just two minutes left.
It was Liverpool’s first trophy following Klopp’s bombshell announcement that he will step down at the end of this season.
The German will hope Liverpool’s first silverware since the 2022 FA Cup will be the springboard for an incredible farewell tour.
Quadruple-chasing Liverpool sit top of the Premier League, face Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday and take on Sparta Prague in the Europa League last 16.
It was another bitter Wembley experience for Chelsea, who lost the 2022 League Cup and FA Cup finals against Liverpool.
Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino has asked Chelsea fans not to judge him on “winning titles” in the midst of a troubled first season in charge.
But Chelsea remain without domestic silverware since the 2018 FA Cup and had only themselves to blame after missing a host of chances in normal time.
Ravaged by injuries to 11 players, Liverpool’s list of star absentees included Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai.
That meant starts for 20-year-olds Conor Bradley and Harvey Elliott, while six of Klopp’s substitutes were 21 or younger.
Chelsea’s Serbian goalkeeper #28 Djordje Petrovic dives but is unable to prevent a header from Liverpool’s Dutch defender #04 Virgil van Dijk (not pictured) beating him during the English League Cup final football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley stadium, in London, on February 25, 2024. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
– Goals Ruled Out –
Despite their youthful line-up, Liverpool settled quickly as Luis Diaz led the charge.
Taking advantage of Chelsea’s hesitant defending, Diaz advanced into the area for a fierce strike that forced a good save from Djordje Petrovic.
Against the run of play, Chelsea should have taken the lead with their first incisive raid.
Conor Gallagher’s cross deflected to Cole Palmer just six yards out, but his strike produced a superb save from Caoimhin Kelleher.
Ryan Gravenberch joined Liverpool’s ever-growing injury list when he was stretchered off after the midfielder’s leg twisted awkwardly in a challenge with Moises Caicedo.
Raheem Sterling thought he had given Chelsea the lead with a close-range finish from Nicolas Jackson’s cross, but the goal was disallowed for a tight offside against the Senegal striker before his assist.
Responding to Chelsea’s improvement, Liverpool were inches away from taking the lead through Cody Gakpo, whose glancing header from Andrew Robertson’s cross hit the far post.
Liverpool kept coming and Bradley’s goalbound shot was brilliantly blocked by Levi Colwill, who threw himself into the fray to repel the close-range effort.
Liverpool looked to have broken the deadlock on the hour when Van Dijk climbed above Ben Chilwell to head in Robertson’s free-kick.
But VAR intervened, prompting referee Chris Kavanagh to disallow the goal for offside against Wataru Endo, who blocked Colwill from marking the Dutch defender.
Axel Disasi should have rubbed salt into Liverpool’s wounds but the Chelsea defender made a complete hash of a close-range chance.
Chelsea went close again as Gallagher met Palmer’s cross with a flick that cannoned off the far post.
Gallagher wasted a golden opportunity to win it in the final minutes, receiving Palmer’s pass in acres of space but taking a heavy touch that allowed Kelleher to save.
In a pulsating finale, Kelleher made two more saves from Palmer and Christopher Nkunku in quick succession to force extra-time.
Bobby Clark, James McConnell, Jarell Quansah and Jayden Danns were all on by now, but if Liverpool’s youngsters lacked Chelsea’s experience, they were never overawed.
Danns almost guided his header over Petrovic and Elliott was inches away when he volleyed against the post.
Liverpool would not be denied and with penalties just two minutes away, Van Dijk met Kostas Tsimikas’s corner with a header that flashed past Petrovic as Klopp raised his arms with a smile that bordered on disbelief.
AFP
Sports
SAD! Rebecca Cheptegi becomes 3rd victim k!lled by partner in Kenya
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Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, four days after being set on fire by her boyfriend at her home in Kenya, has been confirmed as the third female athlete killed by her partner since 2021.
According to reports from CNN and the BBC, Cheptegei’s death follows a troubling trend in Kenya, where several female athletes have been killed by their partners in recent years.
All three of these cases occurred in Iten, Kenya’s renowned hub for elite runners.
Cheptegei, who trained in Kenya, launched her international career at 19, competing for Uganda in the junior category of the 2010 World Cross Country Championships. She later transitioned to road racing, making her marathon debut in 2021.
The following year, Cheptegei achieved a personal best time of 2:22:47, making her the second-fastest Ugandan female runner in history.
In the past three years, two other female Olympians have been killed in Iten, Kenya.
In 2021, Kenyan authorities identified the husband of renowned long-distance athlete Agnes Tirop as a prime suspect in her brutal murder. Tirop, who was 25, was fatally stabbed.
According to CNN, the suspect contacted Tirop’s parents, suggesting his involvement and leading authorities to conclude that he was aware of the circumstances surrounding her death.
The police determined that Tirop’s fatal neck wounds were inflicted by a knife.
Tirop had secured back-to-back bronze medals in the 10,000m at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships and placed fourth in the 5,000m event at the Tokyo Olympics.
She also broke the women’s 10km world record by 28 seconds at Germany’s Adizero Road to Records event, a historic achievement that came just a month before her death.
Approximately six months later, another tragic incident occurred in the same town when marathon runner Damaris Mutua was strangled by her boyfriend, who then attempted to conceal his crime by placing a pillow over her face.
He subsequently fled the country and remains at large, according to authorities, as reported by the BBC.
Mutua earned a bronze medal representing Kenya in the 1,000m event at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore in 2010.
Mutua’s standout season was in 2018, when she achieved personal bests in the 20km (1:08:28), the fastest time that year, with a victory in Marrakesh, and the half-marathon (1:11:51), claiming second place in Mozambique.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ latest data released in January 2023, 34% of women in Kenya have faced physical violence at some point in their lives since the age of 15.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced on Friday that the city will pay tribute to the late Cheptegei by dedicating a sports facility in her name.
Sports
Why I snubbed Eagles job — Cannavaro
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By Mario Deepromoter
Former Italy captain and 2006 World Cup winner, Fabio Cannavaro, says he turned down the Super Eagles job to wait for offers in the Italian Serie A and other European clubs.
Cannavaro was one of the candidates interviewed for the role during the Nigeria Football Federation’s race against time to fill the vacant role ahead of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.
“I had offers from Nigeria [national team] and Iranian clubs, but I want to wait for Serie A and European clubs until December. After that, I may start travelling again,” Cannavaro told La Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview.
German coach Bruno Labbadia was eventually announced by the NFF as the new coach of the Super Eagles, but the 56-year-old eventually turned down the offer over stringent German tax laws.
The team are currently under the guidance of NFF Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen, who is working with coaches of two Nigeria Premier Football League sides, Daniel Ogunmodede (Remo Stars) and Fidelis Ilechukwu (Enugu Rangers), as assistants, ahead of the qualifiers.
They are also joined in Uyo by Tomaz Zorec, a fitness trainer from Slovenia, goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa, and match analyst Eboboritse Uwejamomere.
After the clash against the Benin Republic at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Saturday, the team will depart for Kigali on Sunday for Tuesday’s clash with the Amavubi (Bees) of Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium.
Sports
FULL LIST: Eight Nigerians nominated for Ballon d’Or
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The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French magazine France Football since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season.
Over the years, Nigerian players have also proven to be worthy of this award after being shortlisted by the organisers.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, Nigerian winger Ademola Lookman joined the train of Nigerian players to be nominated for the prestigious award after his blistering performances for both club and country.
Here is the full list of nominees from Nigeria and the year.
1. Finidi George- 1995
2. Daniel Amokachi – 1995
3. Austin Okocha – 1995
4. Kanu Nkwankeo – 1996, 1999
5. Victor Ikpeba – 1997
6. Sunday Oliseh – 1998
7. Victor Osimhen – 2023
8. Ademola Lookman – 2024
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