Konstantinos Tsimikas scored the winning penalty as Liverpool kept their quadruple hopes alive with a 6-5 shoot-out success over Chelsea in an absorbing FA Cup final.
Extra-time substitute Tsimikas sent Edouard Mendy the wrong way with the decisive spot-kick after Alisson saved from Mason Mount, as Jurgen Klopp’s side secured a repeat of February’s EFL Cup final win after two hours of action ended 0-0.
Liverpool had been dealt a huge blow when Mohamed Salah was forced off through injury in the first half, with Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson also substituted after 90 minutes were through.
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But the Reds dug deep to condemn Chelsea to their third consecutive FA Cup final loss, and they could yet add the Premier League and Champions League trophies to their domestic cup double in the coming weeks.
Having started brightly, Liverpool were denied a ninth-minute opener when Luis Diaz forced a one-on-one save from Mendy before Christian Pulisic side-footed wide at the other end.
Marcos Alonso forced a near-post stop from Alisson as the game opened up, while Diogo Jota turned Robertson’s inviting cross over having replaced the injured Salah after just 33 minutes.
Chelsea went close three times in an extraordinary start to the second half, with Alonso volleying narrowly wide and clipping the crossbar with a free-kick, either side of Pulisic forcing Alisson into a diving save.
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Liverpool hit the woodwork twice at the end of a frantic 90 minutes, Diaz striking Mendy’s right-hand post before Robertson turned James Milner’s cross onto the other upright as the contest, like the EFL Cup final between the two teams, continued into extra-time.
After another goalless 30 minutes, Cesar Azpilicueta’s miss from the spot looked set to prove decisive until Chelsea were handed a reprieve when Sadio Mane was denied by Senegal international team-mate Mendy.
But Alisson went on to make a heroic save from Mount’s kick, allowing unlikely hero Tsimikas to find the bottom-left corner and hand the Reds their first FA Cup triumph since 2006.
