Liverpool will take on Chelsea in February’s Carabao Cup final, but Joe Cole believes victory over the same opponents in the league on Wednesday is more important for Jurgen Klopp ’s side.
Cole, who joined Liverpool from Chelsea in 2010, watched the Reds end a 30-year title hoodoo in 2020, but also come painfully close to titles in 2019 and 2022. This season, Klopp’s men hold a lead over holders Manchester City to protect as he looks to end his reign with a second Premier League crown.
And the Reds are still fighting on four fronts, after making progress in the FA Cup and Europa League as well as booking a place at Wembley next month. There, they will face Chelsea again, but Cole is in no doubt over which match is most crucial.
“The league game’s a lot more important for Liverpool,” said Cole, speaking on behalf of TNT Sports who will show the midweek fixtures in the Premier League this week “Chelsea are in a transitional period – it’s important to have European football in some capacity at Chelsea next season because when you’ve got the amount of players you’ve got, I think it helps.
“Clubs like Chelsea, I think it can help them now because players want to play games, so they need European football. But for Liverpool, winning the title… they’ve got a massive opportunity so the league game’s more important for them.”
Cole, who still has a fondness for Chelsea, feels the strength of Liverpool’s fringe players in Europe and the cups will serve them well in the league. “They’re in an absolute perfect position and I expect them to put silverware on the table,” he added. “Just hopefully not the League Cup final.”
The match will also be Liverpool’s first in the Premier League since manager Klopp confirmed this season will be his last in English football. Cole, speaking before the manager’s shock announcement, hailed the summer rebuild which has seen the Merseyside club recover from the loss of the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to mount another title charge.
“I think they’re such a good squad, I really do,” he said. “I think what Jurgen Klopp’s done is incredible in terms of rebuilding and restructuring the squad.
“It just goes to show you, at football clubs, it’s great having all these people to support you, directors of football, data analysis, recruitment teams, all these layers, but I think it’s very clear at Liverpool that Jurgen Klopp calls the shots. I think that’s the reason why when eras come to an end and they’re moving players on, it’s easy to replace them with players that can come in and do the job. Credit to Jurgen Klopp for that, I think he’s done a great job.
“Liverpool could have gone into the wilderness [in the last year or two], but they’ve made all the right signings, they’ve had such a great few years, and I think they’ll have another few years coming up as well. Think of the turnover of the great Liverpool teams. Henderson’s left, [Gini] Wijnaldum left a few seasons ago, Fabinho, [Sadio] Mane, [Roberto] Firmino. It’s the rebuild, and they’ve done it well, and the company in charge, I feel like they’ve been very smart in allowing the manager to do his job.”
