Liverpool’s last two runs to FA Cup glory
Throughout the last two decades – minus two glorious triumphs, of course – Liverpool have only known pain in the FA Cup. There has been plenty of heartbreak and even embarrassment throughout that time, but in 2023/24, things may very well be different. That’s because the Reds’ campaign got underway in blockbuster fashion, decisively beating last season’s Premier League runners-up Arsenal at the Emirates.
An own-goal from Gunners defender Jakub Kiwior and a 96th-minute Luis Duiz goal were enough to secure a 2-0 victory in North London and safe passage to the fourth round of the world’s oldest cup competition. The result has left Liverpool still active in all three domestic competitions as well as the Europa League, and when it comes to the FA Cup specifically, a prominent betting site has made the Merseysiders +1200 contenders this term. But victory in the tournament isn’t something that Jurgen Klopp’s men are all too familiar with.
Here are the last two times in which they tasted FA Cup glory.
2022/23 – Victory Brings Quadruple Hopes to Life
Liverpool’s FA Cup journey in their 2021/22 season was, in all fairness, quite easy. The Reds breezed past lower league opposition in each of their first four fixtures in the tournament. And to make things better, the first three of those four matchups were at Anfield.
Klopp was able to rotate his side accordingly as his side hunted down an unprecedented quadruple. Goals from youngster Kaide Gordon, a Fabinho brace, and Roberto Firmino secured a comfortable 4-1 victory against Shrewsbury Town in the third round before second-half strikes from Diogo Jota, Taki Minamino and Harvey Elliott saw off Championship side Cardiff City. Next up were fellow second-tier side Norwich City however, they too were seen off courtesy of a Minamino brace,
In the quarterfinals, The Reds travelled to the City Ground to face a Nottingham Forest side that had already beaten two Premier League teams in the form of local rivals Leicester City and Arsenal. However, Jota’s second-half strike secured a narrow 1-0 victory and booked a date with Manchester City in the semifinals, the team that Liverpool was going head-to-head within three competitions.
The Reds faithful must have thought it was a sign of things to come when they raced into a 3-0 halftime lead at Wembley through Ibrahima Konate and a Sadio Mane double. The Blues managed to pull two goals back in the second half however, it was Liverpool that progressed to the final (BBC).
There, they met Chelsea, just as they did in the League Cup final. And once more, the game would be decided via the dreaded penalty shootout, with Klopp’s men eventually running out victorious courtesy of Mason Mount’s heartbreaking miss. With Liverpool adding their second domestic trophy of the season to their cabinet, many thought that the quadruple was on. But ultimately, they would miss out on the Premier League by one point to Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable winning machine, as well as lose the Champions League final to Real Madrid in Paris.
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2005/06 Season – The Miracle in Cardiff
The 2005/06 season saw Liverpool produce one of the greatest comebacks in the competition’s history to win the trophy. The Reds’ first three games were tough encounters against Luton Town, Portsmouth, and Manchester United. The first of those three was a clash for the ages, with Rafa Benitez’s men running out 5-3 in a game that included a Steven Gerrard stunner and Xabi Alonso scoring from inside his half.
Captain Gerrard was once again on the scoresheet at Fratton Park, as was John Arne Riise, with the Reds running out 2-0 victors. But the big one at home to the Red Devils was decided by everyone’s favourite lanky striker Peter Crouch, who netted the only goal of the game in the 18th minute. In the quarter-finals, they hammered Birmingham City 7-0 setting up a mouth-watering semifinal against reigning Premier League champions Chelsea, the team they defeated the previous year en route to lifting the UEFA Champions League in Istanbul.
Just as they did against Pompey in the fourth round, Liverpool raced into a 2-0 lead once more. Luis Garcia – scorer of the famous ghost goal against the Blues the previous year – and Riise once again were the scorers. Didier Drogba managed to pull a goal back in the 70th minute. But Jose Mourinho’s men were unable to mount the comeback, and Liverpool clung on for a 2-1 victory.
That set up a meeting with West Ham United at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and Liverpool was heavily favoured for glory. However, the bookies were screwing up their prematch oddsheets when they found themselves 2-0 down thanks to a Jamie Carragher own goal and a Dean Ashton strike. The Reds pulled one back through Djibril Cisse however, Paul Konchesky made it 3-1 in the second half with a wayward cross that flew into the top corner.
But as always was the case with Liverpool throughout the 2000s, cometh the hour, cometh Steven Gerrard. The Reds skipper lashed home two thunderbolts, the latter of which came from 35 yards out and in the 91st minute to take the contest to extra time. There, Pepe Reina would steal the show, saving Bobby Zamora, Konchesky and Anton Ferdinand to seal the victory.
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