It's the faith that defines the coaching career of Jurgen Klopp. The unrelenting faith this devout Catholic shows for everyone around him. Talent demands perspiration, yet all the sweats would amount to nothing if you don't have a parental figure for constant reassurance. Jurgen Klopp is just that. It's the faith of Klopp that once transformed Jordan Henderson, a player of limited skillset, into a monstrous presence in the midfield, and it's faith that made fearless kids plucked out of Melwood look like an assortment of unbeatable talents in the last night's Carabao Cup final.  Virgil Van Dijk's precise header in the 118th minute turned out to be a decisive one, but the night belonged to the youngsters, which also included four players from the Academy.

Liverpool weren't supposed to win. They didn't even want it as badly as Chelsea did. A Premier League fixture against Sheffield United carries more weight than this cup final against their storied rival from London. Yet, they couldn't help winning it, a bunch of youngsters outwitting a hastily assembled billion-dollar team. There was no Mohamed Salah to create havoc on the wing, no Darwin Nunez to make blistering runs, and by the 90th-minute mark, their playing XI had names you might not have heard of - Clark, McConnell, Danns, and Quansah. These are the names to whom managers would often throw morsels, of closing out the game already won or lost. Klopp, however, gave them a sumptuous meal, a cracking final in the hallowed venue of Wembley, and he wasn't let down.

“What we see here today is exceptional. We might never see it again. These things don’t happen in football. I got told there’s an English phrase – you don’t win trophies with kids. I didn’t know that," said Klopp, after the triumph. Exceptional it was, indeed. The billion-dollar assembly of talent headed by Mauricio Pochettino was made to look like an amateur, devoid of any ideas, shape, and substance.

Klopp himself had won more illustrious trophies with Liverpool, but he wasn't exaggerating when he ranked Carabao Cup as his most special victory. How often do we see academy players combining with a few veterans to produce a masterclass that leaves a team like Chelsea deflated?

“In more than 20 years it is easily the most special trophy I have ever won. It is absolutely exceptional. Sometimes people ask me if I’m proud of things and it’s really tricky, I wish I could feel pride more often. But tonight is an overwhelming ­feeling. I was proud of everyone involved in everything here, I was proud of our people for the way they pushed us, I was proud of the staff for creating this kind of atmosphere where these boys can just do what they are best at. I was proud of our academy, I was proud of my coaches, I was proud of so many things," concluded Klopp.