Liverpool’s charge for the fairytale quadruple continues to be on, at least on paper. While Manchester City and Real Madrid could still have a say in it, Jurgen Klopp’s men took another important stride and secured the FA Cup in stunning fashion against Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp might be tired of the word by now, but Liverpool have kept their hopes winning a famed ‘quadruple’ well and truly alive by defeating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties at the Wembley Stadium to win their first FA Cup title since 2005.
Liverpool had also pipped Chelsea to the League Cup title earlier this season on penalties and déjà vu struck for Thomas Tuchel’s men all over again. Cesar Azpilicueta hit the woodwork from the spot while Mason Mount, whose misfortune at the Wembley Stadium shows no signs of ending, had his penalty saved by Alisson to compensate for Sadio Mane’s earlier miss.
Kostas Tsimikas remained unfazed while taking the decisive penalty and slotted it past Edouard Mendy to secure Liverpool’s first FA Cup victory in the Jurgen Klopp era. Chelsea have now become the first side to lose three successive FA Cup finals in a row in this century after also falling short at the final step against Arsenal and Leicester in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The final proved to be a carbon copy of the League Cup fixture between the two sides which had ended goalless after 120 minutes of action. On that occasion, even the penalty run had gone deeper with Liverpool eventually coming out on top 11-10.
Liverpool were on top of the game from the onset. Luis Diaz, in particular, looked extremely threatening and he found himself creating and on the end of several chances, especially in the second half. Diaz also struck the post on a couple of occasions while Andy Robertson was also denied by the woodwork in the second half.
Liverpool suffered two major injury blows as both Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk were forced off due to knocks in the game. Their fitness will be assessed ahead of the all-important UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid in Paris on May 28.
“I’m really proud of my boys. Chelsea were outstanding, but in the end there can only be one winner and today it was us.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told the BBC.
