London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 09, 2026

Liverpool beat Chelsea in FA Cup final shootout

Liverpool beat Chelsea in FA Cup final shootout

Liverpool remain in the hunt for a historic quadruple after winning the FA Cup following another Wembley penalty shootout against Chelsea.

Liverpool lifted the FA Cup for the eighth time in the club's history

Jurgen Klopp's side repeated their Carabao Cup final victory in February, the decisive moment coming when Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson saved Mason Mount's spot-kick, leaving Kostas Tsimikas to secure Liverpool's second trophy of the season.

The Reds are still in the Premier League title race and have the Champions League final to come against Real Madrid.

Liverpool had the better of an eventful final, with the outstanding Luis Diaz and Andrew Robertson hitting the woodwork, although it may come at a price with Mohamed Salah going off injured in the first half and Virgil van Dijk going off after 90 minutes.

It is a devastating blow for Chelsea and manager Thomas Tuchel to lose in this manner yet again as they had chances - with Marcos Alonso hitting the post and also being denied by Alisson - but become the first side to lose three successive FA Cup finals.


Liverpool come through again


When Edouard Mendy saved Senegal team-mate Sadio Mane's penalty in the shootout, when the Liverpool forward only needed to score to win the FA Cup, it just seemed for one moment that the Reds' assault on four trophies might just be interrupted.

Alisson put Liverpool back on course when he saved from Mount, who was inconsolable as Tsimikas sent the Liverpool fans wild by converting the final penalty.

Once again Liverpool had prevailed against fiercely disciplined and determined opponents, even though they lost Salah to what looked like a muscle injury before half-time and Van Dijk did not emerge for extra time.

It remains to be seen how serious those problems are but at present it looks like Liverpool can overcome most obstacles put in front of them, even though it once again took penalties to claim their first FA Cup since 2006.

Diaz was the game's outstanding player, running Chelsea ragged and peppering Mendy's goal with efforts until he was substituted, exhausted, to a standing ovation.

Klopp refers to his players as "mentality monsters" and this illustrates why. Players from both sides gave so much that they were almost out on their feet at the final whistle.

Manchester City remain favourites in the Premier League, three points ahead and with a superior goal difference, and this was a strength-sapping occasion that will have taken much out of Liverpool before they face Southampton at St Mary's on Tuesday.

What we do know, though, is that Liverpool possess remarkable powers of resilience and recovery as they continue their march on history.


Chelsea suffer more Wembley agony


Chelsea manager Tuchel thought redemption was at hand when Mendy saved from Mane, bringing the shootout scoreline back level after Cesar Azplicueta had hit the post earlier.

It was not to be though and the German understandably looked utterly disconsolate as he walked up to collect another Wembley losers' medal.

This was a chance to set the record straight after losing the EFL Cup final on penalties in February, instead it was only more agony for Tuchel and his players after they gave everything in search of victory.

It will be of no consolation whatsoever that Chelsea have now matched Liverpool in two Wembley finals - and drawn both Premier League games - only to end empty-handed when it came to the four main trophies on offer this season.

Chelsea have won the Club World Cup and the Uefa Super Cup but they will not be factored into what has ultimately been a disappointing season.

They had their chances once again but could not cash in, with both Mount and Alonso denied crucially by Alisson.

Tuchel gave Romelu Lukaku a start but once again the £97.5m striker could not deliver. There was no lack of effort but no spark and he was eventually substituted.

There will now be a period of rebuilding, with Antonio Rudiger off to Real Madrid and captain Azpilicueta also expected to leave as the club embarks on a new era under new ownership once Roman Abramovich's sale of the club has been completed.

Chelsea will have a place in next season's Champions League as reward for their efforts this term but, make no mistake, this will have been a very bitter pill for Tuchel and his players to swallow.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Success: Nvidia Turned Gaming Chips Into the Engine of the AI Boom
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Danube Drought Exposes Nazi Wrecks and Pushes Central Europe’s Power System to the Brink
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Air Traffic Control Outage Grounded Flights Across the Midwest
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Partial Solar Eclipse Expected to Draw Interest Across Southwestern UK
UK Graduate Job Postings Fall 7% as Entry-Level Opportunities Remain Scarce
UK Private Sector Returns to Growth as July Activity Reaches Highest Level Since April
UK Summer Drought and Wildfires Raise Pressure for Stronger Environmental Measures
UK Household Credit Stress Rises as Credit Card Lending Growth Hits 12.5%
London Stock Exchange Revises AIM Rules to Make Growth Capital More Accessible
NHS England to Expand Mental Health Services With 155 New and Upgraded Facilities
UK Overhauls £90 Billion Public Procurement System to Reward Domestic Jobs and Apprenticeships
Andy Burnham Holds Strong Approval as Labour Maintains Narrow Lead Over Reform UK, Opinium Finds
Royal Navy Monitored Russian Warships and Shadow Fleet Tankers for 21 Days in July
Australian Crew Evacuates Seriously Ill American From Antarctica in Midwinter Darkness
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Welsh First Minister Raises Independence With UK Prime Minister in First High-Level Call
UK Maintains Severe Terror Threat Level as Prevent Report Highlights Online Radicalization
YouGov Poll Shows Labour Favourability Improves as Reform UK and Greens Lose Ground
Brexit Campaigner Arron Banks Admits Hiring Private Investigator to Examine Journalist
Robert Jenrick Leaves Conservatives for Reform UK in Major Parliamentary Defection
July 2026 Was England and Wales’ Driest Month on Record, Met Office Says
UK Government Considers Public Inquiry Into Jeffrey Epstein’s UK Connections
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
UK Drought Cuts Harvests and Raises Food-Security Fears
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
US Health Secretary: “I’m Not Afraid of Germs — I Used to Snort Cocaine Off Toilet Seats”
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Trump Keeps Hegseth at Pentagon While Leaving Door Open for DeSantis
UK Clears Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery Deal, but US Trial Looms
UK Prosecutors Add 38 Charges Against Andrew and Tristan Tate
Taiwan’s President Joins Wartime Command Drill as China Pressure Grows
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
Government Orders Review of Prison Release Rules After Concerns Over Grooming Gang Offenders
Rail Disruption Continues Across North-West England Amid Infrastructure Problems and Engineering Closures
UK Tax Authority Proposes Broad Changes to Rules Governing Company Distributions
UK Government Moves to Protect Standing Areas Outside Pubs From Local Restrictions
Extreme Right-Wing Referrals Under UK Prevent Programme Rise 42 Percent
EU Citizens in UK Warned That Some Residency Rights May Have Been Granted in Error
Every Monitored Body of Water in England Fails Chemical Purity Standards, Government Data Shows
UK Scientists Create First Artificial Intelligence-Designed Viruses
England Orders Primary Schools to Identify Children at Risk of Becoming Disengaged From Education or Work
×