Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0 - 5-6 on pens (May 14 2022)

[tlw content 17,400]

 

 

 

Report by

Dave Usher

 

I could just copy and paste large chunks of the League Cup Final here as it was basically the same game. Some of the minor points are different but essentially it was a highly entertaining 0-0 that we shaded but that could have gone either way as both teams had plenty of good chances.

 

Extra time and pens once again. *sighs* Thankfully the outcome went in our favour once more but I feel another few months have been taken from the end of my life. Of course there's nothing surprising about the stress and drama of it all. It’s Liverpool in a final, it’s never straightforward.

 

Plus Chelsea are a really strong side on their day. Forget the inconsistent shite they’ve been serving up, like losing at fucking Everton for example, when Chelsea are focussed they’re dangerous because they’ve got quality all over the park and a top manager. They even wore their magic yellow kit which was supposed to bring a change of luck for them as they keep losing finals in blue. Can't believe that foolproof plan didn't work.

 

Four games we’ve had with them now and neither side has won any of them. We got two trophies because we were marginally better at penalty kicks, but that’s four draws with them now. We were the better side in this one but they were dangerous and even when we were well on top they still created chances. Not as many as we did, but with better finishing they could have won in normal time. So could we of course.

 

We started the game like we wanted to blow them away in the first 10 minutes and with better luck we could have. We were absolutely dazzling early on and Diaz was running all over them. They’d left out Azpilacueta and included Chalobah, and that was so obviously due to being scared of what Diaz could do. With good reason. He was sensational all day.

 

He must have had five or six near misses. It’s not like his finishing was bad, but the ball just wouldn’t fucking go in no many how many times he tried. We've had the "Owen Final" and the "Gerrard Final" and It's such a shame because this could have been "The Diaz Final" if he'd been a bit more precise.

 

The only one where I thought he really should have done better though was the one that Mendy just about kept out. That really frustrated me because of what we were denied. That would have been the best Wembley goal ever scored and would be right up there with any goal we’ve ever seen.

 

It started with an outrageous outside of the boot pass by Alisson. Then the ball comes to Trent and he repeats the feat with an even more sumptuous ball to send Diaz clear. That pass was like the Gerrard to Sturridge one at Fulham all those years ago. The difference was that Sturridge finished it off, Diaz didn’t.

 

Virtually everything we did had him at the heart of it though. He was brilliant in the League Cup Final but he was even better in this one. What a player he is. He’s fucking relentless.

 

He’s so good that I wasn’t even that concerned when Mo had to go off. I was concerned about him potentially missing the Champions League Final, but I wasn’t worried about how it would impact this particular game as I thought we’d be fine.

 

 

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[aws 8,110]

Good report Dave. 

 

When Chelsea are up for it (which seems to include every time they play us) they are one of the best sides around so it's not surprising the games are really tight. Our best is a bit better than their best but there's not much in it. If we can't outscore them, winning on pens may be stressful but it's a lot of fun putting their fans through the wringer. 

[Total Longo 3,693]

That description of Tuchel is bang on the money, Dave. 

[johnsusername 3,535]

My real match-going era was 2000/2014. I feel like Klopp (and FSG, to an extent) has slayed all our demons we/I had then. I think you said it in the podcast Dave - go back to that first interview he did for LFC TV and all the things he said he wanted to do he's done.

 

I'm not even TOO bothered that we won't win the league - in the past I would have been devastated, but now I'm looking forward to what we can do next season. Surely none of the players will want to leave? Makes a change from the 90s and 2000s. 

 

Christ, imagine if we buy another world class player in the summer? Holy shit! What a team. The best squad of players we've ever had. World class in every position. 

[Barnesey 359]

Met azpilicueta whilst out with my Chelsea supporting son in law. Came across as a decent bloke tbh

[rb14 1,901]

Met my mate off the train at Euston and we had a bite of lunch upstairs before heading over to Wembley. A family pitched up shortly after. Dad was in Chelsea colours, six-ish year old boy in an LFC shirt. Got talking and the dad was like "Yeah, nothing I could do. Took him (his son) to Chelsea games a few times then he came from school one day and announced he supports bloody Liverpool." Proper top comedy that. Mind, if I had a kid and he came home from school supporting ManU or the Ev, I think I'd disown him. Only thing worse than that is announcing he's a gayer. "Not under my roof son, sling your hook".

[suzy 3,387]

I can’t stand Azpilicueta! Mad thing is I can’t remember what he did that was so bad but he’s definitely on my ‘hit list’.

 

Great report, great time to be a Red indeed.

[Pete 2,180]

34 minutes ago, suzy said:

I can’t stand Azpilicueta! Mad thing is I can’t remember what he did that was so bad but he’s definitely on my ‘hit list’.

 

Great report, great time to be a Red indeed.

He’s just a sly Cunt and has a stupid name. 

[alles ist gut 4,787]

Top, top “Lallana upgrade” analysis there, Dave.

(Also the Venn diagram of “ex-pros laughing at a throw-in coach” and “ex-pros with drink-related brain injury” is just a circle.)

[cochyn 927]

Mitre Deltas - difficult to swerve since 1983. If that was an, adidas Tango, both of Diaz's curled shots are postage stamps. And I'd have slightly less white hairs as a result.

[suzy 3,387]

2 hours ago, Pete said:

He’s just a sly Cunt and has a stupid name. 

Ha! I’m sure he must have done something that particularly annoyed me but I can’t for the life of me remember! Like that keeper Kepa, I know I hated him for refusing to come off that time.

[Kevin D 9,739]

7 hours ago, tlw content said:

 

 

 

Report by

Dave Usher

 

I b

Plus Chelsea are a really strong side on their day. Forget the inconsistent shite they’ve been serving up, like losing at fucking Everton for example, when Chelsea are focussed they’re dangerous because they’ve got quality all over the park and a top manager. They even wore their magic yellow kit which was supposed to bring a change of luck for them as they keep losing finals in blue. Can't believe that foolproof plan didn't work.

 

. 

 

 

 

Much as I’d love to sneer at that, I have a lucky t-shirt that I only wear for cup finals.

 

By the way, I think you forgot to mention Mane’s performance, before the penalty. I thought he was brilliant, really taken his game to another level in 2022.

[Anubis 21,827]

I noticed that in his after match interviews Klopp was very complimentary about Chelsea. He made a point of mentioning it first in each one. Then obviously segwayed into how boss we are.

[lebron 634]

Great report, what a club, team and manager we have!

 

I'll add myself on the list of those who hate Azpilicueta. I've done ever since the game when we lost the league in 2014. He was THE absolute worst in terms of carrying out Mourinho's timewasting tactics, as well as kicking every LFC player and getting away with it. He's the biggest moaner in the PL too, and is always the first to surround/shout at the ref whenever he feels hard done by, which is all the time. For no reason, I might add, as he should definitely be up there with the players making the most fouls in the league (not sure if he is, he gets away with bloody murder everytime he plays us, at least).

 

 

[dave u 7,848]

Azpilacueta is one of those players who unites fans of all teams in their hatred of him.

[RedHeadedRed 126]

I noticed when Kostas was taking his peno his tongue was sticking out of his mouth like a kid who's really concentrating on something, it makes me like him even more. 

[RedSand 114]

9 hours ago, lebron said:

Great report, what a club, team and manager we have!

 

I'll add myself on the list of those who hate Azpilicueta. I've done ever since the game when we lost the league in 2014. He was THE absolute worst in terms of carrying out Mourinho's timewasting tactics, as well as kicking every LFC player and getting away with it. He's the biggest moaner in the PL too, and is always the first to surround/shout at the ref whenever he feels hard done by, which is all the time. For no reason, I might add, as he should definitely be up there with the players making the most fouls in the league (not sure if he is, he gets away with bloody murder everytime he plays us, at least).

 

 

Amen. Him and Fernandinho. Cunts of the highest order that keep getting away with shockingly dirty and snide behavior.
Casemiro is another one to watch out for in two weeks. From the same school of Cunts.

 

Oh and cheers for report as always Dave.

[JustTosh 392]

Great report Dave.

 

Re penalty shoot outs. It’s always been like this: A player misses his shot, everybody in the team goes “oh no, he missed!” and rushes to comfort the poor lad. ”It could’ve been me, we’re in this together” etc.

When Mane missed it didn’t feel like that at all. Everybody in the team seemed to react with ”oh no, we missed!”.  There’s actually a big difference between the two.

It feels like penalty shoot outs are just normal routine for us now. We’ll score as many as we’d do in training. I don’t fear them anymore.

[dave u 7,848]

On 16/05/2022 at 14:59, Barnesey said:

Met azpilicueta whilst out with my Chelsea supporting son in law. Came across as a decent bloke tbh

I always think he seems sound in interviews too. He's a proper little twat on the pitch though.

[JohnnyH 7,410]

18 hours ago, RedHeadedRed said:

I noticed when Kostas was taking his peno his tongue was sticking out of his mouth like a kid who's really concentrating on something, it makes me like him even more. 

Me too. Padraig Harrington vibes about it that I loved.

[terry symes 23]

One moment that had my blood boiling was when Mount was offside, went for the ball initially but then realised he was miles offside so walked away from it, allowing another player to take over. We basically stopped playing, assuming the lino would put his flag up. Anyway, the lino never put his flag up and the ball was switched to the other side and it culminated in them having a decent chance - it either went wide or Ali saved it - I can't remember. I then thought 'Ok, it's that appalling new rule and the lino will now put his flag up'  but he still didn't! No idea whether it would have counted or not, but I was fucking fuming at the time.

 

I read your Villa report and then this straight after and your assessment of the Watkins offside for their goal reminded me of this Mount moment. It needs fucking off. Well VAR in its entirety needs fucking off but especially this delayed flag bollocks.

[aws 8,110]

Mount didn't even walk away from the ball - he just walked very slowly towards it until he was overtaken by another Chelsea player while we stopped awaiting the flag.  I thought the rule was that you're offside unless you make no motion at all towards the ball. 

[terry symes 23]

Yeah it was crazy. And the flag wasn't raised at ANY point!

[m0e 2,985]

Brilliant report as usual