Liverpool vs. Chelsea: Game Recap and Liverpool Player Ratings

Chelsea scored early goals in both halves as they defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the final of the 2012 FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday. 

Chelsea midfielder Ramires scored on a through ball from Juan Mata in the 11th minute. Didier Drogba doubled the lead seven minutes into the second half, before Andy Carroll pulled one back for Liverpool in the 64th. This set up an exciting finish to what was a dull start to the 131st FA Cup final.

First Half

The game started slowly, with both sides feeling each other out the first ten minutes or so. A give away by Jay Spearing in the 10th, however, saw Mata feed to Ramires, who muscled past José Enrique to beat Pepe Reina at the near post.

Having already admitted to having a sub-par season by his own standards, Reina would have to be undoubtedly critical of his performance on the day. 

With the Chelsea player bearing down on goal from the goalkeeper’s left, Reina showed him the far right post so as to reduce the attacking options. However, he failed to properly cover the near post and Ramires capitalized by smashing a shot off the left arm of the wrong-footed Liverpool custodian to snatch the lead.

The goal was precisely what the match needed, although the Liverpool supporters would have preferred the circumstances to have been different. Liverpool’s response was immediate, as the attack suddenly found more life, if little fruition.

Glen Johnson sent a dangerous right-side cross into the box, forcing Branislav Ivanovic into an awkward-headed clearance in front of goal. The ball fell kindly for Craig Bellamy to volley at goal, only to find Ivanovic again in the way.

From there, Liverpool enjoyed the better play but were either stymied by the Chelsea defense or their own inability to complete the attack. Enrique, in particular, seemed lost for ideas whenever he ventured forward, his every foray ending in a dead end on the left side.

Liverpool continued to threaten with Steven Gerrard sending a cross into the box for Martin Skrtel in the 36th minute. A great effort by the Slovakian was nullified by him being just slightly offside at the time of the pass. 

Stewart Downing would win Liverpool’s first corner three minutes later with a good cross into the box. This forced Petr Cech into on awkward punch, but nothing comes from the resultant corner.

Second Half

There were no changes to either lineup, and unsurprisingly the dull performances continued until Frank Lampard threaded a 52nd minute pass through to Drogba. The Ivorian easily pivoted to his right before skidding a shot through the legs of Skrtel and past Reina.

Though not as complicit on this goal, Reina should have done better. There was very little power to the shot, and he was beaten more by the placement of the shot than by anything else. 

Without deflecting any credit away from Drogba, one reasonably would expect an in-form Reina to get a hand to that shot. It was not to be, however, and Chelsea had their second.

Four minutes later, Kenny Dalglish finally substituted the ineffective Jay Spearing with enigmatic front man Andy Carroll. Carroll would have the final laugh over his critics, however, as was arguably his finest performance to date in a Liverpool shirt.

In the 64th minute, Luis Suárez sent a misdirected pass at Downing only to see José Bosingwa easily intercept. Downing did not give up on the play, however, and his challenge on Bosingwa got the ball to Carroll in the box. 

Displaying greater composure than he had shown at any other point this season, the former Newcastle player turned defender John Terry first one way, then the other before firing high into the Chelsea net to halve the Liverpool deficit.

The goal set up an exciting final 41 minutes of football with Liverpool pressing the issue to draw level, which Liverpool thought they did in the 82nd minute.  Suárez found Carroll at the back post for a powerful header on goal and both players celebrated the apparent equalizer, only to see play waved on.

It was the right decision, as Cech made an incredible point blank save to deny Carroll, clearing the ball off the underside of the crossbar. Replays suggested that the entire ball did not cross the goal line, validating the decision and breaking the heart of Wembley’s red half.

All in all it was a decent performance by Liverpool, but too little, too late. Time had run out on their FA Cups hope, and time has run out on any chance of salvaging something positive from a dreadful season.

As always, player ratings are presented by position (back-to-front) below, along the following guidelines:

10: Exceptional—superlative performances only.

9: Excellent—outstanding performance.

8: Impressive—very influential game.

7: Very good—eye-catching game.

6: Average—good game, but nothing overly impressive.

5: Below Average—decent performance, but with some faults.

4: Poor—many faults, performance stands out for all the wrong reasons.

Additionally, any performance that affects the outcome of the game will increase or decrease a player’s rating by half a point (.5).

Pepe Reina—He should have done better on Ramirez’ shot. Caught wrong-footed, leaning right towards far post, wrong-footed. Was arguably at fault on the Drogba goal as well. Grade 4

Glen Johnson—Very good start to the game, dangerous cross in early forcing Ivanovic into an awkward header, Bellamy got the rebound but saw his shot blocked by same. Drew fouls on both Drogba and Kalou to set up chances for Liverpool early. Perhaps has to share in the blame on the Drogba goal, but that would seem harsh. Grade 7

Martin Skrtel—Great leap to get onto Gerrard’s 36th minute cross to get the ball back into the danger area but was slightly offside. Fair to question his defending on Drogba leading to the goal, but another solid performance on balance. Grade 6.5

Daniel Agger—Rash 45th minute yellow card for a challenge on John Obi Mikel, but it was a quietly impressive game for the Dane. Grade 7

José Enrique—Perhaps he could have done better with his positioning and challenge on Ramirez on the goal, but he was absolutely dreadful going forward, every pass a dead end run. Exposed for pace several times, most notably on the Ramires goal. Grade 5

Stewart Downing—Lively start to the game down the Liverpool left side. Good dangerous cross into the box in the 39th minute put out for Liverpool’s first corner. Brilliant tackle on Bosingwa to keep possession for Liverpool and set up Carroll’s goal. Grade 8

Jay Spearing (Andy Carroll 56th minute) — Gave away the ball that led to the first goal; poor closeout on Lampard on the second goal. Lacked the necessary pace and quality demanded by the game and far too often unable to create plays from midfield when required. Not ready. Grade 4

Steven Gerrard—Gerrard had a rather anonymous performance for most of the match, forced to drop too deep into midfield to provide cover for Spearing and Henderson to really factor much in the offense. Grade 6

Craig Bellamy (Dirk Kuyt 78th minute)—Bellamy tried to leave his mark on the match, but as with the other attacking players, he suffered from a lack of service from the midfield. All in all a quiet, ineffective game. Grade 5.5

Jordan Henderson—Nice 27th minute tackle on Kalou, did well to head the ball down to Suárez in the 41st inside the box, but nothing came of the play, and indeed, nothing came of time on the field. Should have been subbed off after 70-75 minutes to make room for a more attacking player such as Maxi. Grade 6

Luis Suárez— With the Liverpool midfield not pressing high enough, this left a noticeable gap between them and Suárez, isolating the Uruguayan. His frustration was palpable in the first half, but eased significantly with the introduction of Carroll. 

Had a low drive turned around the post by Cech for a corner, before setting up Carroll for what appeared to be the equalizer. Can’t do it all by himself and this again was proved to be true in the first half. Did well to play within his game regardless until the opportunities materialized. Grade 7

Subs

Andy Carroll— Carroll had an incredible game in just under a half of play. Near immediate impact, scoring 8 minutes after coming on. Won majority of balls he challenged for and did very well setting up his team mates. Almost had a second, but for a brilliant save by Cech in 82nd  minute. By far Liverpool’s man of the match, he would have had a perfect performance but for Cech’s save. Grade 9.5

Dirk Kuyt—did well to get into the action late, but not enough time to really impact the game. N/A

Not Used

Doni

Jamie Carragher

Martin Kelly

Maxi Rodriguez

Jonjo Shelvey