Liverpool fans furious with Bradley decision after Caicedo avoids punishment

Plenty of Liverpool fans took to social media to vent their fury over the fact Conor Bradley was yellow-carded in the first half of the Carabao Cup final - but Moises Caicedo wasn't.

The Reds met Chelsea under the iconic Wembley arch with the first piece of silverware on offer this season up for grabs. The two played out a fiery first half that saw a few coming togethers, including Bradley's bust-up with Blues left-back Ben Chilwell just before the interval.

Bradley tackled Chilwell and within the blink of an eye, the Reds right-back was being pushed by the Chelsea defender, which in turn sparked a melee as players from both teams did their best to separate the two, while a few threw in some digs of their own.

As the bundle dispersed, referee Chris Kavanagh brandished a yellow card to both Chilwell and Bradley, despite replays showing that the former was clearly the instigator and that in reality, Bradley did very little to warrant a caution, though that alone isn't what really enraged Reds fans.

It was the fact that while Bradley was booked for next to nothing, Caicedo's tackle that ended Ryan Gravenberch's Carabao Cup final 25 minutes in went unpunished. Klopp was clearly furious, ranting at both the fourth official and in the direction of Kavanagh as his player was down receiving treatment.

The Liverpool fanbase echoed Klopp's sentiment online, with one writing on X: "Conor Bradley got a yellow card for being pulled to the ground by Chilwell and reacting but Caicedo got nothing at all for this after a VAR review? LiVARpool though," alongside a video of Caicedo's challenge on Gravenberch.

Another added: "Bradley getting a yellow for being pushed twice and Caicedo avoiding one for a reckless challenge perfectly summing up the standard of refereeing in that first half and as a whole."

One angry Liverpool fan claimed: "I'd genuinely love an explanation of exactly what Conor Bradley did here that deserves a booking? Even Gary Neville said on comms Chilwell was trying to get him sent Off, and he still didn’t react, but Caicedo, not even a yellow for getting a man stretchered off?"

To add insult to Liverpool's injury, the Reds also had a goal chalked off in controversial fashion after Virgil van Dijk's header was ruled out because Endo was deemed offside in the build-up.