[골닷컴] Reporter Choi Dae-hoon = Liverpool beat Chelsea to achieve their eighth FA Cup title, continuing their quadruple challenge this season.
Liverpool defeated Chelsea on penalty shoot-out in the England FA Cup Final of the 2021-22 season held at Wembley Stadium in London, England on the 15th at 0:45 (Korean time).
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Chelsea chose a 3-4-2-1 formation. Lukaku was at the forefront, with Pulisic and Mount in the second line. Alonso, Kovacic, Jorginho and James formed the midfield, while Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Chalova formed the three-back. Goalkeeper gloves were worn by Mendy.
Liverpool countered this with a 4-3-3 formation. Dias, Manet and Salah played in the three-top, Thiago, Henderson, and Keita defended their backs. Robertson, Van Dyke, Konate and Alexander Arnold formed the defensive line, while Alisson kept the goal.
Both teams desperately needed a win. Liverpool are aiming for a quadruple for the first time in an English club, and Chelsea needed the FA Cup trophy to not only blaspheme their loss to Liverpool in the EFL Cup final, but also to avoid military ties this season.
Liverpool took the lead. It was Liverpool who usually chose Silly rather than increase possession with a quick change of offense, but in this game, they caught both rabbits. Boasting a possession of around 60%, he threatened Chelsea.
Then bad news struck Liverpool. In the 30th minute of the first half, Salah suddenly sat down on the ground and requested a replacement, and was eventually replaced by Jota 3 minutes later, ending the game. Liverpool lost a key player early on.
Liverpool were not shaken by Salah’s departure. On the contrary, Jota created good chances and energized Liverpool. However, the goal was unsuccessful and the first half ended without both teams scoring.
As soon as the second half started, Alonso pulled Chelsea’s reins. He shot a good shot that went just a short distance from the goal, and even hit the post with a direct free kick.
Chelsea attacked aggressively compared to the first half that was crouched. The fact that Chalova and Jorginho boasted a solid defense from the rear was effective. With Pulisic in the lead, Chelsea created good opportunities, but failed to surpass Alisson. Both teams threatened the opponent’s goal several times, but the finish was disappointing, and the game went into overtime.
Both teams might not decide whether to win or lose in overtime and went into a penalty shootout. In the penalty shoot-out, Liverpool won 5-6 with Mane missing but Milner, Thiago, Firmino, Alexander Arnold, Jota and Tsimikas all succeeded.
Photo = Getty Images