Ahead of the EFL Cup Final: A History of Chelsea vs. Liverpool
Since their first-ever competitive meeting in 1907, Chelsea and Liverpool have locked horns on 196 occasions in the realm of Football, with Liverpool prevailing 85 times and Chelsea winning 65 of the other fixtures. Two of Liverpool’s most recent successes have come in penalty shootouts, winning by that method to claim the EFL Cup trophy back in 2022.
The First League Cup Encounters
The first-ever League Cup tie took place in 1977, with Kenny Dalglish and Jimmy Case getting on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory for Liverpool at Anfield. As many as 23 years passed by before another encounter in this tournament, with Robbie Fowler scoring the extra-time winner as Liverpool emerged victorious by a 2-1 scoreline in a third-round fixture in November 2000.
Chelsea’s First EFL Cup Victory over Liverpool
Chelsea’s first-ever win over Liverpool, and arguably their most significant, in this competition came in 2005 as they won 3-2 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, with Steven Gerrard scoring an own goal and Mateja Kezman famously scoring the winner in extra time. That triumph represented Jose Mourinho’s first trophy in English football.
“That was the first time I won a trophy in England, and it was very, very important for me and the club.”
Recent Encounters in the EFL Cup
In the 2014-15 campaign, Chelsea and Liverpool would meet in the semi-finals, with a young Raheem Sterling scoring a penalty for Liverpool after Eden Hazard’s opener in the first leg at Anfield. The tie would be decided in the second leg courtesy of Branislav Ivanovic’s 94th-minute goal in extra time, before Chelsea went on to defeat Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
Next would come the dramatic third-round encounter in September 2018 when Chelsea overturned Daniel Sturridge’s opener through goals from Emerson Palmieri and Hazard, the latter scoring one of his most memorable strikes in a Chelsea shirt with seven minutes remaining at Anfield.
In what was the first of two Wembley finals in 2021-22, Liverpool would win the EFL Cup in February 2022, with an entertaining goalless draw being followed by a penalty shootout that featured 21 successive conversions before Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga sent his spot kick high over the crossbar, gifting Liverpool an 11-10 triumph and their ninth League Cup trophy.
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