Tsimikas wins FA Cup for Liverpool as Chelsea falters in yet another cup final
When people judge how interesting a soccer game is, they usually judge it by the number of goals in the game. However, there could be games that don’t provide goals but still be a nail-biting matchup. This year’s Football Association Cup final is a perfect example of an exciting goalless match.
Liverpool faced Chelsea at another cup final again after the League Cup final in February. Last time out, the two teams battled for 120 minutes and the match ended with no goals. Liverpool won the League Cup on penalties. Liverpool is looking to maintain their quadruple dreams alive as Chelsea is looking for revenge this time around.
Liverpool started with their best team. Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mané, and Luis Díaz led the Liverpool attack. On the other side, Chelsea started with César Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kanté, and Hakim Ziyech on the bench. Trevoh Chalobah, Mateo Kovačić, and Christian Pulisic started for them respectively.
The game started with Liverpool dominating the game, racking up multiple chances and shots in the first 20 minutes. However, only one of those shots was on target. Chelsea slowly eased into the game and started creating dangerous chances. Marcos Alonso received a pass in the left side of the box and got into a one-on-one situation with Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. Alonso had a bad first touch and the ball got away from him. He failed to convert as both teams remain goalless. Both teams had injury scares in the first half. Both goalkeepers Edouard Mendy and Alisson have sustained minor injuries during the game but were able to continue playing. But Salah was not as lucky. He was forced off with an injury in the 31st minute, with Diogo Jota replacing Liverpool's top scorer.
The first half was interesting as both sides had their chances, but it ended with Liverpool dominating on the statistics. They had nine shots compared to Chelsea’s three and they had 60 percent of possession. The issue Liverpool had was finding the target, with only one of the nine shots in the first half hitting the goal.
Chelsea started the second half swiftly by getting three shots and Alonso’s freekick hitting the crossbar in the 48th minute. But after that, Liverpool regained control of the match. The next time Chelsea was able to get a shot off was in the 68th minute. Liverpool’s domination continued as both teams missed easy chances. At the end of the 90 minutes of regular time, Liverpool had 17 shots, with Díaz’s and Robertson’s attempts hitting the posts separately. An exciting display of attacking power from Liverpool and defensive discipline from Chelsea provided another interesting half of soccer but the score line remained zero to zero. Both teams cannot be separated within regular time and extra time was needed as this FA cup final slowly turned into a replay of the League cup final three months ago.
In extra time, the tempo slowed down for both teams. Liverpool’s dominance in the game slowly disappeared as their main players Luis Díaz and Virgil van Dijk were substituted. Chelsea had their chances but they still could not inflict any damage. The two teams cannot break the deadlock after 120 minutes. The match ended without any goals and will be decided by penalties just like the League Cup final.
Chelsea’s Alonso stepped up to take the penalty to start off the shootout. Alonso and James Milner both converted their penalties for their teams. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Azpilicueta dragged his shot wide and hit the post, giving Liverpool the advantage. Thiago Alcântara scores to give Liverpool the lead. Reece James, Roberto Firmino, Ross Barkley, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Jorginho all scored for their respective teams, leaving the potentially game-winning penalty to Mané. Mané faces his Senegal National Team teammate Mendy but he failed to convert. Mendy saved Mané’s penalty and threw Chelsea a lifeline.
The shootout continued into sudden death. Ziyech and Jota both scored for Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. Mason Mount stepped up to take Chelsea’s seventh penalty. Mount’s attempt was powerful, but Alison dealt with it with a great save to give Liverpool the advantage again. Konstantinos Tsimikas, who has never scored for Liverpool, stepped up to take the second potentially game-winning penalty. Tsimikas put his shot into the bottom left of the net to win Liverpool their first FA cup in 16 years. At the same time, this penalty shootout loss meant that Chelsea became the first team to lose three FA Cup finals consecutively. More importantly, Tsimikas’ penalty kept Liverpool’s quadruple hopes alive.
Liverpool had already won the League Cup and FA Cup this year, they have made it into the Champions League final, and they are trailing by just one point in the Premier League title race. The quadruple has never been completed since Sottish side Celtic in 1967. If Liverpool manages this feat, they will join a very precious club. They have two more games to play in the Premier League with the last game on the 22nd of May and they will face Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28th.
