By Spy Uganda
Liverpool has been crowned 2022 FA Cup champions after defeating Chelsea in the final at Wembley on Saturday afternoon. The Reds needed a penalty shootout to get the better of their rivals as Kostas Tsimikas dispatched the deciding spot-kick.
This is the fourth meeting between Thomas Tuchel’s European champions and Jurgen Klopp’s League Cup holders this term, with neither of the two sides winning against the other inside 90 minutes. There was a 1-1 Premier League draw at Anfield and a 2-2 stalemate in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge.
In the Carabao Cup final in February, the teams drew 0-0 after extra time before Liverpool won 11-10 on penalties with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga sending his spot-kick well over the crossbar.
Having lifted that trophy already, Liverpool can move one step closer to a cup treble this term. They face Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28. A quadruple is also not yet out of the realms of possibility, although they will need other teams to do them a favour and trip up leaders Manchester City.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are looking to crown the season with more silverware after lifting the Club World Cup, though they suffered disappointment in the Champions League against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. And they have been well adrift of City and Liverpool in the title race.
Tuchel said, “A little bit [we have added motivation]. We will not get the Carabao Cup back. We were proud of how we played. There has to be a loser, unfortunately it was us. It was an unusual game and there were no regrets.
“The feeling of revenge is not very big. We don’t have the feeling we should’ve done better. It was never like this, even straight after. But we want to win it. We played two domestic finals, lost one, the second one is huge now. Liverpool are one of the strongest teams in the world so it’s a big one and I’m very excited.”
While Klopp reflected: “Chelsea are a really, really well-coached team. They have an idea for all different areas of the game, that’s how it is. They’re very organised defensively and offensively they have so much talent. It’s very interesting to prepare, to be honest. We play a final, an FA Cup final and it would be a real surprise if we met a weak team in that final.”
