Chelsea, Liverpool put on Carabao Cup show, Barca clicking under Xavi, Napoli soar to Serie A summit

The European football weekend gave us everything, as it always does: The Carabao Cup final was truly a game to remember despite it technically finishing 0-0 between Chelsea and Liverpool, while Barcelona and Napoli picked up big wins. There was also cause for concern at Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich after difficult games.

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It’s Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.

Jump to: Chelsea, Liverpool entertain | Barca click for Xavi | Napoli top of Serie A | PSG turn on the style | Bayern’s midfield issues | Everton’s handball woe | Real Madrid get lucky | Man United perform | Juve revival continues | Spurs win should calm Conte | Deja due doom for Dortmund

Only thing a superb cup final lacked was finishing … until the penalties

I’m not a fan of the League Cup (known as the Carabao Cup) and would love to see it scrapped. That said, when two teams serve up the sort of spectacle Chelsea and Liverpool offered Sunday in the final, you can only tip your hat to the players and the coaching staff. This game had everything bar goals, and that was down to a combination of tremendous goalkeeping from Caoimhin Kelleher and Edouard Mendy and some poor finishing from Christian Pulisic, Sadio Mane and Mason Mount.

It was curious to see how Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel — two coaches who go way, way back — would set up. Tuchel omitted Romelu Lukaku and went for a more mobile front three of Kai Havertz, Mount and Pulisic, perhaps looking to forgo some possession and rely instead on transition. Klopp lost Thiago Alcantara to a muscle pull in the warm-ups, and it was a significant blow. Against Chelsea’s well-marshaled defense, he would have come in more than handy. The former Bayern man is irreplaceable (nobody else in Klopp’s squad has his skill set) without being indispensable:…