Trevoh Chalobah slams ref's decision in Carabao Cup final after needing stitches

Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah needed stitches following a poor tackle from Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita during Sunday's EFL Cup final at Wembley.

The Blues ace slammed referee Stuart Attwell for not punishing Keita in the 58th minute, as the Guinean escaped without a booking and VAR wasn't used.

Keita missed the ball in the challenge and caught Chalobah's inner thigh, with the Englishman needing stitches to heal the wound.

"Had to get stitches because of this," tweeted Chalobah after the game, along with a video of the incident. "Referee is right there I don't get it?"

Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - who is the manager of League One outfit Burton Albion - believes Keita should've been sent off for the challenge.

Did Naby Keita deserve a red card? Let us know in the comments below!

"I'm surprised nothing has been said about it," insisted Hasselbaink. "We are now looking at it but for me Keita's movement, he slows down.

"Then he goes for the tackle. They both go for the ball but Keita totally misses the ball. If you look here he totally misses the ball and hits the player really hard.

"For me, that is endangering the opposition. Endangering the player and that should be a red card. I don't understand that the referee didn't see it.

"I don't understand at all that VAR has not seen it because this is really bad. I'm very surprised, very, very surprised."

Attwell handed out four yellow cards during the final, three to Chelsea players (N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz) and one to Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Although Chalobah was not impressed with the referee's verdict, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville believes Keita's challenge did not warrant a red card.

"Well, he has let most things go" said Neville. "It did look a little dangerous. Maybe both players went in the same. I thought Keita was late, but I might be wrong.

"That wasn't great by Keita. That was a foul. The referee has got a lot right today and he gets that one wrong. He just misses the ball and it's that follow through.

"It's not a red card, but I do think it was a foul."

Keita wasn't expected to start the final but was drafted in at the last minute when Thiago Alcantara picked up an injury shortly before kick-off.

Harvey Elliott was then promoted to the bench and was introduced to become the youngest player to represent the club in a major cup final - aged 18 years and 329 days.

Thiago is now expected to miss Liverpool's FA Cup tie against Norwich at Anfield on Wednesday with a tight hamstring.

"I think we all agree, Thiago agrees, there were moments when he struggled injury-wise, that's how it is," said Klopp when discussing Thiago's fitness last week.

"Then coming back, even with his quality it's not that you can get rhythm all the time immediately. You can get rhythm, but not always immediately.

"It's very helpful if you can stay fit for a longer period... we have to try to find the right intensity for him."