LIVERPOOL won the Carabao Cup after beating Chelsea 11-10 on penalties – with psychology paying a huge part in the victory.
After a 0-0 draw at Wembley it went down to the dreaded spot-kicks.
After 21 successful attempts, Chelsea keeper Kepa, who was brought ON for the shootout, blazed his effort over the bar.
That saw Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side lift their first domestic cup since 2012 – Kenny Dalglish led the Reds that time to a 3-2 penalty shootout win against Cardiff in the same competition.
Football psychologist Professor Geir Jordet has broken down just how the game was won in a revealing analysis he shared on social media.
He told SunSport: "The game is so demanding in 2022, and players and teams are so incredibly fit and well prepared, that psychology more and more seems to be what makes the difference."
Here Jordet explains the seven key factors that led to the Merseysiders getting their hands on the silverware.
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Kepa subbed on understandable
Outcome bias is VERY real in football, but Thoms Tuchel's decision to substitute goalkeeper was fair.
They've successfully done so before with the Spanish keeper.
Kepa has featured in their last three shootout wins and his record is superior to Mendy.
Going against Kepa penalty takers score 71 per cent of the time, it is at 94 per cent against Mendy.
Blues looked on track
When a shootout goes far, every single shot from number five and on is a must-score to keep their team alive.
In our research, we've found that only about 60 per cent of these shots are scored.
Chelsea impressively scored six of these, before Kepa's final miss.
Celebrating is vital
Liverpool's fans behind the goal can benefit them if you don't let it add pressure, but derive positive energy from it.
Five Liverpool players intensely celebrated their goals compared to zero Chelsea players.
Celebrating increases the chance of an ultimate win.
Keepers' day to forget
Overall, both teams' penalty takers performed exceptionally well.Twenty-one goals from 22 attempts is rare.
However, both goalkeepers made it easier by only moving in the correct direction three times each, and eight times either moved too early, for example Kelleher versus Jorginho, or simply guessed wrong.
Far too predictable
As for goalkeeper mind games, Kelleher did nothing.
Kepa was slow to get to the goal, had some hand gestures & took up a skewed position for Virgil van Dijk's kick.
However, many keepers do much more.
Apart from the Van Dijk position Kepa was predictable & easy to deal with for the shooters.
Kepa wanted out of there
Kepa's shot was the FASTEST of all, with a 0.4 second reaction to the referee's whistle (average for 22 players was 2.6 seconds).
Fast is linked to more misses and suggests a player that is uncomfortable with the situation and aims to get it over and done with.
Blues rally around Kepa
A penalty shootout is a team event.
Although this was not Kepa's best night, it's a good sign for the group and their future performances that the other Chelsea players instantly were there around him following the decision.
For more on Geir Jordet's research, follow him on Twitter here.
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