2012 FA Cup Final: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool

The footage

▶

2012

The match report

Chelsea won the FA Cup for the seventh time on Saturday 5 May 2012, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the 131st final of the competition, watched by 89,102 at Wembley. Ramires scored early, Didier Drogba doubled the lead just after half-time and, though substitute Andy Carroll pulled one back and came within inches of a dramatic equaliser, Chelsea held on to lift the cup for the fourth time in six seasons.[1][2][12][13]

The final was not even the last match of the English season. UEFA wanted a clear four-week gap between the end of the domestic calendar and Euro 2012, and with the Champions League final a fortnight away the FA brought its showpiece forward to the first weekend of May, where it clashed with a full Premier League programme for the second year running. Kick-off was moved to 5.15pm so the league games finished first, and the oddest twist of all was that the two finalists had been due to meet each other at Anfield in the league that same day. The fixture was postponed to the Tuesday, so Chelsea and Liverpool played each other twice in four days.[9][10][13]

Liverpool's first final at the new Wembley began badly and never really recovered. Jay Spearing lost possession in midfield, the ball broke to Juan Mata, and his pass sent Ramires beyond Jose Enrique; the Brazilian drove into the area and beat Pepe Reina at the near post with a shot the goalkeeper should have saved. Liverpool almost hit back within two minutes when Craig Bellamy's volley was blocked in front of goal by Branislav Ivanovic, but Steven Gerrard was forced ever deeper to help a swamped midfield and Luis Suarez was left isolated. John Obi Mikel was booked for a mistimed tackle on Gerrard, and Daniel Agger followed him into Phil Dowd's book for a challenge on Mikel before the break.[2][1][7][13]

Liverpool began the second half brightly and had a penalty appeal waved away when Gerrard went down in the area, but two minutes later the final tilted decisively. Frank Lampard escaped Spearing and fed Drogba, who held off Martin Skrtel and sent a left-footed finish across Reina into the far corner. It made Drogba the first man to score in four FA Cup finals, and it was his eighth goal in as many Wembley appearances. Kenny Dalglish responded by sending on Carroll for Spearing.[2][1][7]

The substitution transformed the match. Inside ten minutes of coming on, Carroll had scored: Stewart Downing charged down Jose Bosingwa's attempted clearance, the ricochet fell to the substitute, and he turned John Terry superbly before smashing a left-footed shot high past Petr Cech. Suddenly Liverpool were laying siege. Gerrard volleyed over from Carroll's knock-down, Cech saved low from Suarez, and Agger headed wide from the corner that followed. Chelsea, who had been cruising, were now clinging on, and Roberto Di Matteo sent on Raul Meireles for Ramires to stiffen the midfield.[2][1][13]

Then came the moment the final is remembered for. With nine minutes left Suarez chipped a cross to the far post and Carroll powered a header goalwards; Cech, stretching back, got a hand to it and turned the ball on to the underside of the bar and away. Carroll ran off celebrating, certain it had crossed the line, but referee Phil Dowd and his assistant Andrew Garratt were unmoved, and Suarez was booked amid the protests. A succession of television replays proved inconclusive either way. The FA's own report of the final declares the attempt was 'correctly never given' - and names the assistant on that side as Stuart Burt, who was actually the official on the opposite touchline.[2][7][1][8]

Chelsea saw out five minutes of added time, John Terry became the first man to captain a club to four FA Cup victories, and Ashley Cole collected his seventh winners' medal. The strangest of seasons then produced one more twist: three days later, at the rearranged Anfield league fixture, Liverpool won 4-1 against a Chelsea side resting several regulars for Munich. Liverpool still finished eighth in the league and Dalglish was sacked on 16 May. Chelsea finished sixth, won the Champions League on penalties against Bayern Munich on 19 May, and Di Matteo was given the manager's job permanently.[1][5][13]

What the win was worth in money is printed on the FA's own report, which records that the winning club received 1,800,000 pounds from the prize fund and the runners-up 950,000 pounds. Both clubs would have traded it for what came next: for Chelsea the European Cup a fortnight later, for Liverpool nothing at all. The defeat hardened the view of Liverpool's owners, and within a fortnight Dalglish was gone, replaced by Brendan Rodgers.[1][13][5]

How the match unfolded

1. 11'Jay Spearing loses possession in midfield, the ball breaks to Juan Mata and his pass sends Ramires beyond Jose Enrique. The Brazilian drives into the area and beats Pepe Reina at the near post. The FA's own report times the goal 'after just ten minutes'; every other record says the 11th.[2][1][12]
2. 13'Liverpool almost equalise immediately. Glen Johnson's cross reaches Craig Bellamy, whose goalbound volley is blocked in front of the line by Branislav Ivanovic.[1][2][13]
3. 36'John Obi Mikel is shown the first yellow card of the final for a mistimed tackle on Steven Gerrard. Sky Sports times the booking at 37 minutes.[13][12]
4. 44'Daniel Agger is booked for a challenge on Mikel. Sky Sports times it at 45 minutes.[13][12]
5. 50'Liverpool's penalty appeal is waved away after Gerrard goes down in the Chelsea area.[13]
6. 52'Frank Lampard escapes Spearing and feeds Didier Drogba, who holds off Martin Skrtel and sends a left-footed finish across Reina into the far corner. It makes Drogba the first man to score in four FA Cup finals.[2][1][7]
7. 55'Kenny Dalglish sends on Andy Carroll for Spearing. The standard reference work gives 54 minutes.[12][1][13]
8. 64'Carroll scores. Stewart Downing charges down Jose Bosingwa's attempted clearance, the ricochet falls to the substitute and he turns John Terry before smashing a left-footed shot high past Petr Cech.[2][1][12]
9. 71'Carroll's headed pass finds Gerrard, whose shot goes over the crossbar.[13]
10. 73'Cech saves low from Suarez, and Agger heads wide from the corner that follows.[13][1]
11. 76'Raul Meireles replaces Ramires as Chelsea try to stiffen the midfield. The FA's report times it at 77.[12][1]
12. 78'Dirk Kuyt replaces Bellamy. The FA's report times it at 79, the standard reference work at 76.[12][1][13]
13. 80'Downing's clever pass inside Bosingwa sets Suarez free, but his miscued cut-back is eventually fired over by Jordan Henderson.[1]
14. 81'The moment the final is remembered for. Suarez chips a cross to the far post, Carroll powers a header goalwards and Cech claws it on to the underside of the bar and away. Carroll celebrates, certain it crossed the line, but Phil Dowd and assistant Andrew Garratt do not award a goal. Suarez is booked amid the protests. The BBC times the incident with eight minutes left.[13][7][2][12]
15. 90'Florent Malouda replaces Mata as Chelsea run the clock down.[12][1]
16. 95'After five minutes of added time, Dowd blows for full-time and Chelsea win the FA Cup.[1]

Match facts

Date

Saturday 5 May 2012

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance

89,102The figure printed in The FA's own match report and in Sky Sports' match record.[1][12]

Referee

Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)[1][12][13]

Scorers

Ramires 11'
Didier Drogba 52'
Andy Carroll 64'[1][2][12]

Half-time

1-0

Competition

2011-12 FA Cup

Where they played

Both sides as they lined up. Choose any player to read what they did in this final.

Select a shirt for that player's note.

Route to the final

Line-ups

Trivia and detail

• Juan Mata was named man of the match. His slide-rule pass created Ramires' opening goal.[13]
• John Terry became the first player to captain a side to four separate FA Cup victories, and Ashley Cole collected his seventh winners' medal, extending his own record.[1]
• ITV's live match coverage averaged 8.9 million viewers with a five-minute peak of 11.21 million, the biggest audience for a final since 2007. ESPN's coverage drew 397,000.[11]
• Each club was allocated approximately 25,000 tickets, almost 7,000 fewer per team than for the semi-finals. Kenny Dalglish said supporters were being taken for granted.[6]
• Liverpool fans could barely get to the final at all: engineering works meant only three direct trains ran from Liverpool to London that day, all leaving before 8am, and no train home was possible after a 5.15pm kick-off.[10]
• The final began with 85 million pounds of striking talent on the bench: Andy Carroll for Liverpool and Fernando Torres, against his former club, for Chelsea.[2][7]
• Ramires was the first Brazilian to score in an FA Cup final.[7]
• Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic played the whole final knowing their bookings in the Champions League semi-final had already ruled them out of the Munich final a fortnight later.[7]
• In the rearranged league meeting at Anfield three days after the final, Stewart Downing missed a penalty and hit the woodwork twice, yet Liverpool still won 4-1.[5]

How well do you know the 2012 final?

Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.

1. Who scored Chelsea's opening goal in the 2012 FA Cup final?

   RamiresDidier DrogbaJuan MataFrank Lampard
   Answer

   Ramires. He ran beyond Jose Enrique on to Mata's pass and beat Pepe Reina at the near post in the 11th minute.[2][12]

2. Which Liverpool substitute scored and then had a header controversially not given?

   Andy CarrollDirk KuytMaxi RodriguezJonjo Shelvey
   Answer

   Andy Carroll. Carroll came on for Jay Spearing, scored within ten minutes, and then saw Petr Cech claw his far-post header on to the bar with nine minutes left.[2][1]

3. Who refereed the 2012 FA Cup final?

   Phil DowdMartin AtkinsonAndre MarrinerHoward Webb
   Answer

   Phil Dowd. Phil Dowd of Staffordshire took charge. Martin Atkinson, who refereed Chelsea's semi-final against Tottenham, is the natural distractor.[12][13]

4. What record did Didier Drogba set by scoring in the 2012 final?

   First man to score in four FA Cup finalsOldest scorer in an FA Cup finalMost goals in a single finalFastest goal in a Wembley final
   Answer

   First man to score in four FA Cup finals. His left-footed finish made him the first man to score in four FA Cup finals, and was his eighth goal in as many Wembley appearances.[7]

5. The two clubs met again in the league three days after the final. What happened?

   Liverpool won 4-1 at AnfieldChelsea won 2-1 at AnfieldThey drew 2-2 at Stamford BridgeThe match was abandoned
   Answer

   Liverpool won 4-1 at Anfield. Liverpool gained emphatic revenge at Anfield against a Chelsea side resting players for the Champions League final, ending the Blues' top-four hopes.[5]

What is not settled

Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:

• The minute of the opening goal is contested by the governing body itself. The FA's official match report says Chelsea led 'after just ten minutes'; the BBC, Sky Sports and the standard reference work all give the 11th minute. We publish 11.
• The disallowed header is placed in the 81st minute by the standard reference work and by RTE, while the BBC describes it with eight minutes left, which implies the 82nd. Sky Sports times Suarez's booking in its aftermath at 82. We publish 81.
• Booking minutes drift between records: Mikel's yellow card is 36 in the standard work and 37 on Sky Sports; Agger's is 44 or 45. We publish the standard work's figures.
• Substitution minutes drift the same way: Carroll came on at 54 or 55, Meireles at 76 or 77, and Kuyt at 76, 78 or 79 depending on which record is consulted. We publish the figures Sky Sports and the FA agree on where they do agree.
• Which assistant referee ruled on the disallowed header is recorded incorrectly somewhere. The FA's own report names Stuart Burt; the BBC and RTE both name Andrew Garratt, whose side of the pitch the far-post header was aimed at. We name Garratt.
• Whether Carroll's header crossed the line is genuinely unsettled. The FA's report asserts it was correctly not given; the BBC, the Guardian and RTE all describe the replays as inconclusive. We record it as contested, not settled.
• No footage has been verified for this final yet, so the television shows no signal rather than an unchecked embed.

How we know

Every claim on this page is tied to a numbered source below. These are the contemporary records behind it, each one fetched and matched word for word before publication rather than taken on trust:

• Nicholas Veevers, The FA's official match report, 5 May 2012, archived 7 May 2012 · The Football Association (archived)
• Phil McNulty, chief football writer, 5 May 2012 · BBC Sport
• Post-match reaction, 5 May 2012 · BBC Sport
• Phil McNulty, post-match reaction, 5 May 2012 · BBC Sport
• Phil Dawkes, 8 May 2012 · BBC Sport
• Ticket allocation report, 18 April 2012 · BBC Sport
• Match report, 5 May 2012 · RTE Sport
• Dominic Fifield at Wembley, 5 May 2012 · The Guardian
• Scheduling announcement report, 12 May 2011 · The Guardian
• Travel disruption report, 16 April 2012 · The Guardian
• Overnight ratings report, 8 May 2012 · The Guardian

Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.

Sources

1. Chelsea's day · The Football Association (archived)
2. Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool · BBC Sport
3. Kenny Dalglish hopes Liverpool learn from cup finals · BBC Sport
4. Roberto Di Matteo 'relaxed' over Chelsea job · BBC Sport
5. Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea · BBC Sport
6. Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish says fans are 'taken for granted' · BBC Sport
7. Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool · RTE Sport
8. Kenny Dalglish laments Liverpool's naivety and nerves against Chelsea · The Guardian
9. No escape for 2012 FA Cup final from date clash with Premier League · The Guardian
10. Liverpool fans face huge disruption travelling to London for Cup final · The Guardian
11. Chelsea v Liverpool FA Cup final scores peak of 11 million viewers · The Guardian
12. Chelsea vs Liverpool: The FA Cup Final, line-ups and match record · Sky Sports
13. 2012 FA Cup final · Wikipedia

Elsewhere in the encyclopedia

These two clubs have met in a final before

• 2022 Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool

Other finals involving these clubs

• 1971 Liverpool: Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
• 1988 Liverpool: Wimbledon 1-0 Liverpool
• 2009 Chelsea: Chelsea 2-1 Everton
• 2010 Chelsea: Chelsea 1-0 Portsmouth
• 2017 Chelsea: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
• 2018 Chelsea: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United

Other finals at Wembley Stadium

• 2008 Cardiff City 1-0 Portsmouth
• 2009 Chelsea 2-1 Everton
• 2010 Chelsea 1-0 Portsmouth
• 2011 Manchester City 1-0 Stoke City
• 2013 Wigan Athletic 1-0 Manchester City
• 2014 Arsenal 3-2 Hull City

Elsewhere on WhatChan