Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara was reduced to tears after being forced to pull out of the side for Sunday’s EFL Cup final with Chelsea.
The Spaniard was named in the starting lineup as expected and was set to form a familiar midfield trio with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho at Wembley.
However, Thiago suffered an injury during the warm-ups and was forced to pull out of the starting XI, with Naby Keita taking the 30-year-old’s place in the lineup.
The emotion of missing out on Liverpool’s first cup final of the season was too much for Thiago, who was reduced to tears on the bench while watching his teammates prepare for the contest.
Thiago is in tears as he sits on the Liverpool bench, having dropped out with injury in the warm-up 😥 pic.twitter.com/HaAT2if3Kx
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 27, 2022
Thiago was offered comfort and words of support by Alisson Becker, with the Reds’ first-choice goalkeeper among the substitutes as Caoimhin Kelleher earned an expected start in between the sticks.
Kelleher was forced into one close-range save from a wasteful Chelsea and Christian Pulisic in the first half, while Keita and Sadio Mane were denied brilliantly by Edouard Mendy‘s double save.
