Liverpool win FA Cup, beat Chelsea via penalty shootout
Extra time substitute, Kostas Tsimikas, the Greece international, who joined from Olympiakos in the summer of 2020 for £11.7m, stepped up to take Liverpool’s seventh penalty, the kick which won the FA Cup.
He proved that even the more unheralded members of Jürgen Klopp’s squad can be counted on.
Liverpool had been in the same situation at the end of round five. César Azpilicueta had hit the post for Chelsea with the first kick of the second round and Sadio Mané made the mission to the spot, intending to complete phase two of Operation Quadruple.
Mané seemed to be taking his time over the walk, savouring it. He had scored the decisive penalty for Senegal in their victories in the Africa Cup of Nations final and the World Cup playoff. Everybody knew that he was going to score. But he did not, his Senegal teammate Édouard Mendy going the right way to save.
It was a moment of the purest drama. Thomas Tuchel, the Chelsea manager, beat the turf in delirium. It was back on for his team; the opportunity to end a traumatic season on a high. And then it was snatched away again after Alisson read Mason Mount’s intentions to make an outstanding save to his left.
Enter Tsimikas. What a moment for the 26-year-old. And he made it a defining one for his career with the coolest of finishes. The Liverpool half of the stadium exploded, red flares lighting the scene, and Klopp could celebrate the addition of the FA Cup to his CV.
Klopp wants more. The Premier League feels like a big ask, with his team trailing Manchester City by three points with two games to play – and an inferior goal difference. Then there is the small matter of the Champions League final against Real Madrid on 28 May.
There was a scare here when Mohamed Salah was forced off with an injury in the 32nd minute but it was not a time to dwell on that, rather for the club to enjoy a first FA Cup since the Steven Gerrard-inspired victory over West Ham in 2006, which was also won on penalties.
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