As Jurgen Klopp approaches the first significant moment of his protracted farewell, Liverpool has their sights set on a “special” League Cup victory against Chelsea in Sunday’s final.Following his shocking announcement that he would be leaving his position as manager of Liverpool at the end of the current season, Klopp is in his final season in that role.Following his stunning revelation, Klopp is convinced he no longer has the energy to lead Liverpool’s relentless pursuit of silverware, but so far, there has been little indication of the feared decline in his team’s fortunes.Since the 56-year-old announced his intention to retire, Liverpool has won five of its six games across all competitions, scoring 21 goals along the way.If Liverpool continues on their current winning streak, they will win their first trophy since defeating Chelsea in the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 2022 this coming weekend at Wembley.With an incredible nine-year reign that has seen him win six major trophies, Klopp’s quadruple-chasing players are eager to bid him a medal-filled farewell.Along with playing Chelsea this weekend, Liverpool leads the Premier League by four points. On Wednesday, they play Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round, and in the Europa League last 16, they play Sparta Prague.Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk stated, “We want to make it a special day and get our first trophy of the season.””We are not there yet, but the end of the season will probably be very emotional for a lot of people, including the manager.”Van Dijk summoned Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders to ensure their boss had a memorable day.”We are going to try it. This is a unique game. We have to concentrate on that since special games require special performances, according to Lijnders.“I think you underestimate our squad, the personalities in it,” he said.“A lot of these boys didn’t win anything with Liverpool yet so of course they give everything despite the manager saying he is leaving. We are stable enough to deal with it.”Lijnders’ reference to several of Liverpool’s young squad waiting to taste success underscores Klopp’s achievement in rebuilding his team after the pre-season departures of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino and James Milner among others.The Reds’ resolve will be tested at Wembley by a mounting injury crisis that leaves them without Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota.Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai face late fitness tests.But taking advantage of Liverpool’s injury woes will be easier said than done for inconsistent Chelsea.Mauricio Pochettino’s team were one of Liverpool’s victims during their recent goal spree, losing 4-1 at Anfield in January.Former Tottenham and Southampton boss Pochettino, yet to win a trophy in England, has been under fire from angry Chelsea fans as a troubled season threatens to spiral out of control.With Chelsea languishing 25 points behind Liverpool in 10th place in the Premier League, a surprise win at Wembley would be a major boost to the Argentine’s job security.Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is expected to fly in from the United States to watch the Blues’ first cup final since he and Behdad Eghbali bought the London club from Roman Abramovich in 2022.In an unsuccessful attempt to relive the Abramovich heyday, Boehly has spent over £1 billion ($1.26 billion) on signings.Pochettino is aware of how important it would be to end the Blues’ wait for their first domestic trophy since the 2018 FA Cup. His Tottenham team lost to Chelsea in the 2015 League Cup final.It is our ideal situation. We have the opportunity and we’re going to fight. The squad is prepared, and we will play with a lot of competition,” stated Pochettino, who has only triumphed once in 13 meetings with Klopp.“The team is awake to the competition. We were lacking in the first half of the season, but there was a click to alter the way we compete.

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