Liverpool's mentality monsters are back! Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea proves Jurgen Klopp's farewell tour could end in a quadruple

Klopp had been once again ridiculed for his penchant for hyperbole after comparing the midweek Premier League win over Luton to the epic Champions League comeback against Barcelona in 2019, and that was understandable to a degree.

The hurdle that Liverpool overcame on that epic night at Anfield was far higher. Luton are hardly Barcelona, their humble status most amusingly summed up by their own self-effacing fans, who 'taunted' their Liverpool counterparts by signing "Conference champions, you'll never sing that!" during Wednesday's 4-1 loss on Merseyside.

But Klopp could hardly have been more excited when the full-time whistle blew, rolling out the famous fist-pumps for all four corners of the ground. He clearly saw something in his weakened starting line-up that reminded him of the spirit of 2019 - and he was proven correct on Sunday.

"In my 20 years, this is easily the most special trophy," he enthused. "This was so special." And he was spot on. Never before has a Klopp team won a final after overcoming such adversity.

Remember, there was no Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Dominik Szoboszlai or Curtis Jones to call upon - and then Ryan Gravenberch was forced off with an ankle injury after a horrific tackle from Moises Caicedo.

Unsurprisingly, Liverpool momentarily lost their way in a game that they had been dominating, with the Dutchman's enforced exit resulting in Joe Gomez coming on at right-back and Conor Bradley moving further forward.

Klopp had been reluctant to throw on one of his two teenage midfielders at that early stage of the game but by the end of of normal time, both Bobby Clark and James McConnell had entered the fray, along with striker Jayden Danns, who had only made his professional debut four days previously against Luton.

It was a stunning show of faith in Liverpool's academy products. The lengthy injury list obviously played its part but Klopp could have persisted with the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo for extra-time. Instead, he turned to three youngsters with a combined 261 minutes of senior football between them - and it proved a masterstroke.

Rather incredibly, Liverpool actually dominated extra-time. Chelsea have spent nearly £400 million ($500m) over the past four transfer windows signing Under-23s - only to discover in the most painful way possible that Liverpool's homegrown heroes are better.

A lot of Chelsea's youngsters have more experience, and arguably more talent too, but Klopp's kids clearly have greater character. The German attributes that to the incredible work done by the academy, admitting only last week that he's astounded how "culture-educated the next generation" are at such a young age.

Essentially, Bradley & Co. don't just have the right talent to play for Klopp's team - but also the right temperament too. A new breed of mentality monsters were born before our very eyes on Sunday.

It's worth recalling that there was a fear that standards might slip at Anfield following the departures of James Milner and Jordan Henderson last summer, given both had been integral in terms of setting the example of professionalism that others were duty-bound to follow. But Klopp is the key to the culture of success at Anfield - and always has been.

As former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said on Sky Sports, "Special managers do special things and he is one of the best that the Premier League has ever seen.

"A monster manager who has a middleweight squad, a bantamweight team out there, but it punches like a heavyweight. It's because of him.

"Look at the energy, the passion, the spirit of Klopp. I can't wait until he leaves!"

Unfortunately for United fans, and everyone else in fact, Klopp won't be leaving for a few months yet - and there's now a real chance that he brings the curtain down on a remarkable career at Anfield with at least one more trophy.

Liverpool currently top the Premier League, are favourites to win the Europa League ahead of next month's last-16 clash with Sparta Prague and host Southampton in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night.

Even just winning one of those three trophies will be difficult. Manchester City are just one point behind Liverpool in a titanic three-way tussle at the top of the table and are nearly everyone's pick to win a fourth consecutive title, while Xabi Alonso's unbeaten, Bundesliga-leading Bayer Leverkusen will take some stopping in the Europa League.

As for the FA Cup, Klopp will be once again forced to lean heavily on his youngsters to get past Southampton, with so many of his key players still sidelined.

The thing is, though, no task appears too daunting right now for Liverpool, no challenge too great. This is a club united, a manager, a squad and a fan base feeding off the wave of emotion generated by Klopp's shock decision to step down this summer that eventually swept Chelsea away at Wembley.

Furthermore, even the great City have their defensive flaws this season and still have to visit Anfield, while the Europa League final will be held in Dublin - meaning it would, as Klopp recently quipped, be a "home game" for all intents and purposes for Liverpool, given the city's deep-rooted historical ties with Ireland and its capital city.

So, can Klopp really bow out with a quadruple? It's still improbable - but certainly not impossible. Injuries remain an issue and fatigue will almost certainly become a factor between now and the end of the campaign.

But the pressure is now off in some ways. Silverware has already been secured on Klopp's farewell tour. The odds remain very much against them, of course, but while it would obviously take a brave man to back Liverpool to win three more trophies from here, it would arguably take an even braver one to back against them.

Klopp's mentality monsters are back - and they're a force to be feared.