Darwin Nunez didn’t let his injury stop him celebrating Liverpool’s victory (Picture: Getty)
Darwin Nunez allayed fears over the severity of his injury after the striker was pictured sprinting down Wembley’s steps and hurdling a gate while celebrating Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time winner in the Carabao Cup final.
Van Dijk headed Konstantinos Tsimikas’ 118th-minute corner past Dorde Petrovic to send Liverpool’s support into raptures as the Merseyside giants kept their quadruple hopes alive in Jurgen Klopp’s final season as manager.
Raheem Sterling and Van Dijk both had goals ruled out by VAR in normal time, with Sunday’s thrilling showpiece – the 64th League Cup final – packed with moments of high drama and controversy.
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino appeared on the verge of tears at the full-time whistle in a result which further extends the Argentine’s long wait for a trophy in English football.
Liverpool were without a number of first-team stars for the final, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota all missing through injury.
Nunez has missed Liverpool’s last two games being forced off with a muscle problem in the Reds’ win at Brentford but the Uruguayan’s injury certainly didn’t stop him celebrating Van Dijk’s header.
One TV camera focussed on Liverpool’s injured players in the stands showed Nunez barging past Curtis Jones before racing down the steps and leaping over a gate to reach his overjoyed team-mates on the touchline.
Nunez’s injury is not thought to be serious and there are hopes the ex-Benfica man could make his return in Liverpool’s FA Cup fifth-round tie with Southampton on Wednesday night.
The 24-year-old attacker netted in each of his last two matches for Liverpool to take his goalscoring tally to 13 for the season in all competitions.
‘We did it!’ Nunez posted on X shortly after the Reds’ dramatic win.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, a beaming Klopp said Liverpool’s Carabao Cup victory was ‘easily the most special’ trophy he had won.
‘It is easily the most special trophy I ever won. It’s absolutely exceptional,’ the German told reporters.
‘Sometimes I get asked if I’m proud of this, proud of that, proud of that, and it’s really tricky. I wish I could feel pride more often, I just don’t do.
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‘Tonight there’s an overwhelming feeling, “Oh my God, what’s going on here?” and I was proud of everybody 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 surrounding 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. It was really overwhelming.’
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