Sport
Didier Drogba match winner as Chelsea beats Liverpool 2-1 to win FA Cup
Drogba slotted the ball through defender Martin Skrtel’s legs and into the net after being fed by Lampard as a lethargic Liverpool posed little threat.
That was until Liverpool substitute Andy Carroll breathed life back into the game when he pulled one back in the 64th after teasing his way around Chelsea captain John Terry.
Chelsea had to survive a late, intense Liverpool onslaught, with Carroll believing he had equalized when a close-range header was swatted away on the goal line via the crossbar by goalkeeper Petr Cech.
But the referee waved away Liverpool’s appeals for a goal, with replays indicating that the entire ball did not cross the line.
And Terry went on to become the first captain to lift the FA Cup four times with the same club.
“It’s fantastic, it’s what we live for,” Terry said. “At times people have slated us as too old, past it or not together but as a team we come together and unite when our backs are against the wall.”
As they have been for most of the season. Chelsea’s freefall, though, was halted after Di Matteo replaced Andre Villas-Boas as coach two months ago until the end of the season.
While Chelsea is still languishing outside of the four Champions League qualification places in sixth place in the English Premier League, the team can win the European Cup for the first time by beating Bayern Munich in two weeks.
