Classic clash between Liverpool and Chelsea | football news

Liverpool face Chelsea in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, with the winners offered the first major domestic trophy of the season. Here’s a look at the classic encounters in the bitter rivalry:

Origin of the feud

Fittingly for a man who enjoyed his reputation as football’s agent provocateur, it was Jose Mourinho who defused Chelsea’s bitter feud with Liverpool.

Inspired by the billions of Roman Abramovich and the skillful mind-game of Mourinho, Chelsea were about to embark on a golden era and Liverpool, as one of England’s traditional powers, was particularly troubled by the ostentatious newcomers.

So when they met in the 2005 League Cup Final in Cardiff, sparks were sure to fly and Mourinho and company did not disappoint.

John Arne Riise’s first-minute opener for Liverpool was followed by a Steven Gerrard own goal which forced extra time.

In an early glimpse of his emotional touchline antics, Mourinho was sent off for quietly teasing the Liverpool fans after the equaliser.

As Mourinho watched on television by now, strikes from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman had Chelsea in control.

Antonio Núñez got one back for Liverpool, but Chelsea won 3–2, securing the first trophy of Mourinho’s reign and creating a grudge that persists to this day.

Garcia’s ‘ghost goal’

Any enduring sports rivalry needs an iconic moment to guarantee it will stand the test of time. For Liverpool and Chelsea that moment came at Anfield on 3 May 2005.

Just three minutes into the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, Liverpool’s Milan Baros beat Chelsea keeper Petr Cech on the ball inside the area.

It rolled out to Luis Garcia and the Spanish winger curled his close-range shot wide of goal despite William Gallas’s desperate effort to clear it off his line.

To Chelsea’s anger, referee Lubos Michel gave the goal away and without any goal-line technology or VAR to confirm whether it had gone in, controversy has persisted ever since.

Even Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez wouldn’t say definitively whether it was a goal, but his team won 1–0 on aggregate and defeated AC Milan in a historic final.

Mourinho was furious, labeling García’s effort a “ghost goal”, and Liverpool rubbed salt into the wound two years later when they again defeated the Blues in the Champions League semi-final at Anfield, this time on penalties.

Penalty drama at Wembley

Liverpool’s most recent trophies came at the expense of Chelsea in 2022 as Jurgen Klopp’s men showed courage to win a pair of penalty shoot-outs in the League Cup and FA Cup finals.

The first part of that silverware double came in the League Cup, when, after a 0–0 draw at Wembley, Liverpool won 11–10 on penalties.

Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, brought in as a penalty-saving specialist in the final moments of extra time, missed the decisive spot-kick after his Liverpool counterpart Caoimhin Kelleher had converted his effort.

Klopp still remembers that encounter fondly, and admires the intensity generated by both teams in a major clash.

Just three months later it was a similar story as Liverpool won 6–5 on penalties after another grueling 0–0 draw in the FA Cup final.

This time, Liverpool keeper Alisson Baker was the star, saving Mason Mount’s spot-kick to set up the winner for Kostas Tsimikas, breaking Chelsea’s hearts once again.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)