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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Josh Williams

Jurgen Klopp and Virgil van Dijk have just ruined Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea blueprint

Liverpool supporters were treated to a thriller at Wembley on Sunday evening as their side secured the Carabao Cup by beating Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out.

Spectators were entertained throughout the final despite it remaining goalless after 120 minutes of football - it didn't feel like a 0-0 due to the number of efforts that were disallowed during normal and extra-time.

On a countless number of occasions Thomas Tuchel's men generated shots - some of which found the net - before the linesman raised his flag on the sidelines to signal offside.

Chelsea persistently attempted to exploit Liverpool's high defensive line and offside trap but it didn't pay dividends this time around.

The Stamford Bridge outfit were caught offside seven times, which was very much out of character.

For context, Chelsea haven't been caught offside more than five times in any Premier League match this season, with their average roughly two offsides per game.

Last season, when Liverpool were suffering from an injury crisis, Tuchel made a conscious attempt to target the offside trap of Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield Premier League encounter between the teams.

The Chelsea boss fielded Timo Werner from the start of the match and, when asked about why the German striker was included, he said: "Speed, speed, speed. Speed against the high line. If we had expected the game to be deeper, then we'd have gone with (Olivier) Giroud. But against a high line, we need speed."

Chelsea won the game 1-0 but now that Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip have regained fitness, the strength and efficiency of Liverpool's high line and offside trap has been restored.

Klopp's outfit have caught 112 players offside in the Premier League this season, which places them top of Europe's top five leagues, ahead of second-placed Sassuolo on 100, followed by Villarreal on 92.

Manchester City are the next-best English side with a total of 68 offsides to their name - ranked 12th across Europe - followed by Manchester United and then Southampton.

Although Liverpool can appear nervy and open in certain situations, they are in control more often than not, and the high-risk strategy makes plenty of sense once considering the perks of VAR.

With technology in place, Reds boss Klopp can rest assured that any offside call is guaranteed to be correct.

Liverpool's offside trap has to bear the brunt of criticism every now and then but on Sunday afternoon it was integral to how the team secured the silverware.

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