Over the past two decades (minus two glorious triumphs, of course), Liverpool have only known pain in the FA Cup. There has been a lot of angst and even shame during all that time, but in 2023/24, things may be different. That’s because the Reds’ campaign started with flying colors, decisively beating last season’s Premier League runners-up Arsenal at the Emirates.
An own goal from Gunners defender Jakub Kiwior and a Luis Duiz’s goal in the 96th minute They 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 standout betting site has turned the +1200 Merseysiders into contenders this season. But victory in the tournament is not something Jurgen Klopp’s men are too familiar with.
Here are the last two times they tasted FA Cup glory.
2022/23 – Victory gives life to quadruple hopes
Liverpool’s journey to the FA Cup in their 2021/22 season was, to be fair, quite easy. The Reds easily beat lower league opponents in each of their first four games of the tournament. And to make matters better, the first three of those four clashes were at Anfield.
Klopp was able to rotate his team accordingly as his team chased an unprecedented quadruple. Goals from youngster Kaide Gordon, a brace from Fabinho, and Roberto Firmino secured a comfortable 4-1 win against Shrewsbury Town in the third round before second-half goals from Diogo Jota, Taki Minamino and Harvey Elliott saw off the Cardiff City of the championship. The next rival was the second division Norwich City, however, they were also eliminated thanks to a double from Minamino.
In the quarter-finals, the Reds traveled to the City Ground to face a Nottingham Forest side who had already beaten two Premier League teams: local rivals Leicester City and Arsenal. However, Jota’s second-half goal secured a narrow 1–0 victory and secured a date with Manchester City in the semi-finals, the team Liverpool had faced in three competitions.
The Reds faithful must have thought it was a sign of things to come when they raced into a 3-0 half-time lead at Wembley thanks to Ibrahima Konate and a Sadio Mane brace. The ‘blues’ managed to come back two goals in the second half, but it was Liverpool who advanced to the final (BBC).
There they faced Chelsea, just as they did in the League Cup final. And once again, the match would be decided by the dreaded penalty shoot-out, with Klopp’s men ultimately emerging victorious thanks to Mason Mount’s heartbreaking miss. With Liverpool adding their second domestic trophy of the season to their cupboard, many thought the quadruple was underway. But in the end, they would miss out on the Premier League by one point to Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable winning machine, as well as losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid in Paris.
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Season 2005/06 – The miracle in Cardiff
In the 2005/06 season, Liverpool made 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 trailing 5-3 in a game that included a Steven Gerrard goal and a Xabi Alonso goal from inside his own half.
Captain Gerrard scored again at Fratton Park, as did John Arne Riise, and the Reds won 2-0. But the big goal at home against the Red Devils was decided by everyone’s favorite lanky forward, Peter Crouch, who scored the only goal of the game in the 18th minute. In the quarter-finals, they defeated Birmingham City 7-0, setting up a delicious semi-final against reigning Premier League champions Chelsea, the team they defeated the previous year on the way to Lifting the UEFA Champions League in Istanbul.
Just as they did against Pompey in the fourth round, Liverpool once again took a 2-0 lead. Luis García – author of the famous ghost goal against the Blues the previous year – and Riise were the scorers again. Didier Drogba managed to score the goal in the 70th minute. But José Mourinho’s men could not come back and Liverpool held on for a 2-1 victory.
That set up a meeting with West Ham United at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, with Liverpool the heavy favorites for glory. However, the bookies were ruining their pre-match odds sheets when they found themselves 2-0 down thanks to an own goal from Jamie Carragher and a goal from Dean Ashton. The Reds closed the gap thanks to Djibril Cisse, but Paul Konchesky made it 3-1 in the second half with a wayward cross that slipped into the top corner.
But as was always the case for Liverpool throughout the 2000s, come time, come Steven Gerrard. The Reds captain fired two thunderbolts, the last of which came from 35 meters and in the 91st minute to take the game 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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