When Liverpool won the corner towards the very end of extra-time that would prove decisive, Jürgen Klopp applauded and just found himself smiling at the romance of it all. Depleted by a host of injuries, the manager had introduced a host of untested young players but here his team was, fighting until the last breath. They had been the more dangerous one in the extra period.
Klopp’s scriptwriter had something left, the detail to ignite his quest for four more trophies before he rides off into the sunset at the end of the season. The substitute Kostas Tsimikas swung over the kick and there was Virgil van Dijk, running away from Axel Disasi, to glance home with his head. The Liverpool captain had seen a header ruled out in the second half of normal time after a lengthy VAR intervention. There was no denying him or his team on this occasion.
