Liverpool have come a long way to ensure – almost – that they can still do their best.
Edward Mandy could have saved from Sadio Mane, but he could not stop Chelsea from becoming the first club to lose three consecutive FA Cup finals and the second to lose both domestic finals in one season. Both, of course, were on penalties for Liverpool. History repeats itself and may reach new heights. Liverpool won their eighth FA Cup and first for Jurgen Klopp to become both the third most successful in the history of the competition and only the third team to win both cups in the country in one season.
Most important of all, the foursome still has legs, even if that’s not quite the case for many of Klopp’s players.
Concerns about Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dyke, as well as the exhausted state of the team can wait, as there is nothing like the motivational effect of victory. Liverpool will feel a new impetus after a 6-5 victory on 0-0 penalties. They also showed the exceptional quality of this campaign – which is pure perseverance.
Chelsea have shown some of this, but they just have to watch what happens to the new owner. Poor Mason Mount, who saw the decisive penalty saved by Alison, will wonder what it could have been.
However, it is rude and wrong to reduce such an important effort to this blow. There were too many invested, too many other moments, too long a season.
History will not see this finale, the 150th anniversary of the race, as a defeat for Mount. These two countries still played four hours of football at this stadium this season and did not score a single goal in an open game. That’s why, in this whole century and a half of history hanging over the occasion – with so much echo of so many finals that had passed before it – the Carabao Cup final in February really had the biggest impact.
Costas Tsimikas, as a substitute, scored the winning penalty
(Getty Images)
It had almost a direct effect. This time, Thomas Tuchel did not bring Kepa Arizabalaga to Mendi, but instead introduced Ross Barkley to a penalty.
The cruelty for the German was that both decisions were justified. Barkley scored. Mandy saved one of the most important penalties by stopping her compatriot Manet when the Senegalese striker could have won.
However, Chelsea have not won yet. Alison rose as she descended. Liverpool continue.
They persevered through an awful lot, especially the effect of this match on their team.
Although Salah’s injury was clearly the most important in the context of Paris, for two weeks it was part of a more unfortunate historical line. You can call it the latest example of Wembley Hood, a feature of the final that really mattered much more when you couldn’t get reserves.
Alison saves from Mason Mount in sudden death
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Previous sufferers like Bert Troutman, Elton’s uncle John Roy Dwight or – most famously – Dave Whelan either had to persevere or leave, Liverpool could face Diogo Giotto.
This inevitably corrected the very form of their game, as one of their attackers was already a player who was the best in the penalty area, instead of all three so excitingly able to get into it.
Luis Diaz was no longer getting exactly the same space in the back as he had in the first few minutes. Chelsea managed to pass and cover with a little more certainty.
Initially seeming a mess, Trevo Chaloba cleared the ball from the line for one of two early chances Diaz wasted. The question remained whether this would be his day or one of those days.
Luis Diaz was electric, but it wasn’t going to be his day
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Chelsea survived this, only to squander an even greater set of chances. Marcos Alonso, for his part, missed in various ways, hitting Alison and then just around the corner before later looking at the crossbar with a speculative free kick.
Romelu Lukaku, the most remarkable selection decision in the beginning, stretched Liverpool with his run, but the attack was not yet fully connected. The best exchanges actually came with the participation of Christian Pulisic, although he put a passage on Mount narrowly wide.
Mateo Kovacic was the Chelsea player who was most responsible for turning their game around, as well as how he won the ball in front of the defense and then made it move, just to run out of energy. The Croat was in doubt in the gym before the match, so it was no surprise when he had to go to N’Golo Kante. On the other hand, on the other hand, Joel Matip was attracted to Van Dyke, a player you so rarely see changing.
It was just another way this finale refers to the past. This was a test of endurance, even if circumstances were pulling players back here, not that “Wembley energy field” of knowledge. At least it remained a captivating game for a while, and certainly while Diaz could run at a pace.
The Colombian smashed both pillars before twisting a divine effort.
That had the nuances of Arsenal in 2001, a game that, of course, led to some late victory for Liverpool.
The addition of the FA Cup means that Jurgen Klopp has won every major trophy with Liverpool
(FA via Getty Images)
This device had to go a different way, albeit with the same end.
Instead, it was the first final since 2007, the first of the new Wembley, who were left without a goal after 90 minutes. And then it quickly became clear that he would be the first in this stadium – but the third overall – to go on penalties.
They were just another part of the day, which also traveled the distance, as both sides pushed to sudden death.
However, Costas Tsimikas noted to ensure that the four remain alive.
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