Liverpool and Chelsea players stand in support of war-torn Ukraine ahead of the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. Amid their neighbor’s Russian attack, Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson took to the pitch before kick-off in the country’s yellow and blue colors. Both teams stood for a minute to applause while the stadium’s scoreboard read “Football Stand Together” in yellow and blue. Liverpool and Chelsea fans were seen with flags of Ukraine in their squares at Wembley.
An auxiliary banner in the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine read “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, in reference to Liverpool’s anthem.
The iconic Arch of Wembley lit up with the colors of Ukraine on Saturday evening.
Chelsea issued a statement on Sunday saying the club were praying for peace in the wake of the attack. But he was criticized for failing to mention Russia in the brief message.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said the statement, which called the situation “terrible and devastating”, reflects the opinion of everyone at the club, including their Russian boss Roman Abramovich.
“Absolutely he is involved in it and it reflects my opinion like everyone else at the club,” Tuchel said on Sky Sports.
Asked whether he has spoken to Abramovich since Saturday’s statement in which the billionaire said he was “caretaking and caring” for Chelsea to the club’s charitable foundation, Tuchel said: “No, we have Haven’t and it’s normal.”
Abramovich, who will remain the owner of the club, made the move after calling for the Russian oligarchs to be stripped of their assets in parliament.
“I interact daily with Petr Sech and very regularly with Marina (Granovskia) – he is in charge of football and it is my understanding that he will remain in charge so it will not change much for me,” Tuchel said.
Tuchel left Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku on the bench for a second straight match as he picked Kai Havertz after the German scored against Lille on Tuesday.
Lukaku, who was Chelsea’s £97million ($131m) club record signing, has only scored 10 goals since moving from Inter Milan last year.
For Liverpool, Thiago Alcantara was replaced by Nabi Keita after the Spanish midfielder was injured in the pre-match warm-up.
Kaomhin Kelleher replaced Alisson Baker in the goal and Mohamed Salah made his third League Cup appearance in nearly five years.
Liverpool win on penalties
publicized
Liverpool eventually beat Chelsea 11–10 on penalties to win the League Cup final at Wembley after the match ended 0–0 after extra time. Both sides faced the disappointment of VAR scoring a goal for offside and neither was able to break the deadlock in 120 minutes of action. Liverpool scored all 11 of their penalties but Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who came on as a substitute for the shootout, failed to convert his spot-kick.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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