Jurgen Klopp described Sunday's League Cup final triumph as the "most special" of his trophy-laden coaching career. The 1-0 win over Chelsea in extra time to secure the League Cup – the second of his Liverpool reign – was achieved without several first-team regulars, most notably Mohamed Salah, fellow strikers Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
An early injury to midfielder Ryan Gravenberch made the prospect of overcoming Chelsea's expensively assembled squad even more daunting, but a group of academy products, already dubbed "Klopp's Kids" stepped up to the plate to help secure a deserved win thanks to Virgil van Dijk's late header.
Conor Bradley, age 20 and playing only his 17th first-team game, started nominally at right-back but has shown already he has the skill and passing range to slot comfortably into defender-cum-midfield hybrid role popularised by the player he was deputising for, Alexander-Arnold.
Though fatigue may have forced Klopp's hand, the German had no qualms about turning to the exuberance of youth, throwing a pair of 19-year-olds in Bobby Clark and James McConnell into midfield and asking Jayden Danns, 18, to lead the attack as the match headed for extra time.