Ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea’s 2024 Carabao Cup final clash at Wembley, we take a look at the EFL Cup’s most successful club.
In this weekend Carabao Cup final, Liverpool have the chance not only to win the first piece of silverware in a potential quadruple, but also further cement their position as the EFL Cup’s most decorated club. In the six decades since the inception of England’s secondary cup competition, which was originally known as the League Cup, the Reds have lifted the trophy a record nine times.
Can Liverpool win EFL Cup for 10th time?
In the teams’ second EFL Cup final meeting in three years, Liverpool take on Chelsea in the 2024 final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, with the opportunity to move two wins ahead of the tournament’s second-most successful club, Manchester City. In 2021, City drew level with the Merseysiders at the top of the leaderboard, when Pep Guardiola’s men clinched their fourth Carabao Cup in a row. The following year, however, Liverpool moved back in front of their Premier League rivals, thanks to a penalty shootout win over this weekend’s opposition from West London.
First four EFL Cups won successively
City weren’t the first team to lift a quartet of EFL Cups on the spin; that distinction also goes to Liverpool, whose first four triumphs in the competition came in consecutive seasons 40 years ago. Between 1981 and 1984, a team managed first by Bob Paisley, then by Joe Fagan, saw off West Ham, Tottenham, Manchester United and city rivals Everton in successive EFL Cup deciders. The run of wins, which included two replays and two extra-time victories, featured one of the great EFL Cup final goals - a sumptuous curler by Ronnie Whelan to beat United in the 1983 showpiece:
While the EFL Cup is currently sponsored by the energy drink Carabao, Liverpool’s streak of successes in the early to mid-80s coincided with the competition’s first renaming deal, signed with the UK’s Milk Marketing Board. Between 1981 and 1986, the Milk Cup even came with a specially redesigned trophy. Over the following four decades, the EFL Cup has since also been known as the Littlewoods Cup, the Rumbelows Cup, the Coca-Cola Cup, the Worthington Cup, the Carling Cup and the Capital One Cup.
The ‘McManaman Final’
When Liverpool won the EFL Cup for the fifth time in their history, the tournament was halfway through its six-year deal with soft-drink giant Coca-Cola. Steve McManaman ran the show, scored both goals, and deservedly scooped the Man of the Match trophy at Wembley in 1995, as Roy Evans’ Reds beat second-division Bolton Wanderers despite Alan Thompson’s thumping second-half strike for the Trotters.
Four EFL Cups so far since turn of millennium
In 2001, Liverpool also defeated second-tier opposition to secure their sixth EFL Cup - a trophy triumph that was the first in a memorable treble. Having beaten Birmingham on penalties, Gérard Houllier’s men then went on to thrilling final wins over Arsenal and Alavés in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup, respectively. Two years later, Liverpool enjoyed another EFL Cup final victory over United.
Since beating the Red Devils 2-0 in 2003, courtesy of goals by Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen, Liverpool have had to endure decade-long waits for their two most recent successes in the competition. As in 2001, they needed penalties against a lower-league side to win the EFL Cup under Kenny Dalglish in 2012, with Championship club Cardiff City beaten from 12 yards.
And 10 years on, spot-kicks decided the final in Liverpool’s favour once more, as the six-time European champions claimed their most recent EFL Cup, winning the trophy for the first time in Jürgen Klopp’s successful tenure at Anfield. After a goalless draw with Chelsea, goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher was Liverpool’s hero in a marathon shootout at Wembley, netting the winning penalty after his opposite number, Kepa Arrizabalaga, had sent his kick over the crossbar.
Chelsea vs Liverpool: start time, how to watch
Chelsea and Liverpool’s 2024 Carabao Cup final clash takes place today, Sunday 25 February 2024, with kick-off at Wembley Stadium scheduled for 10am ET/7am PT. Viewers in the United States can watch the game on ESPN+.