Chelsea 2 - 1 Liverpool: Drogba seals fourth FA Cup in six seasons for Blues

The Blues appeared to be cruising when Drogba scored at the start of the second half following Ramires’ early opener, but the arrival of Andy Carroll turned the game on its head.

The burly Liverpool striker smashed home a superb goal, then, with nine minutes left, rose to meet Luis Suarez’s cross at the far post. Carroll was convinced he had scored, with Suarez equally certain the ball had crossed the line before Petr Cech clawed it back on to the crossbar.

Linesman Andrew Garratt was not so sure – and those who had the advantage of television replays were mostly of the same opinion. Garratt could not signal the goal, so referee Phil Dowd did not give it. And, once another goalbound Carroll effort had been blocked in stoppage time, Chelsea were able to complete their fourth FA Cup triumph in six seasons, and give Roberto Di Matteo his first trophy as a manager.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said the officials should get all the credit if they called the toughest decision of a dramatic final correctly.

“I’ve not seen it on television but somebody said sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t,” Dalglish said. “This time we didn’t get it. If the officials have got it right I hope they get the credit they deserve for it.

“It is credit to the lads that they went close to getting an equaliser after big Andy scored, but we left ourselves too much to do and I don’t think the first hour was a true reflection of the quality of the players.

“They were excellent for the last half hour but the game lasts for 90 minutes and with a team the quality of Chelsea you can’t give them two goals start and expect to give yourself an opportunity to get something from the game.”

Di Matteo admitted he did not know whether Carroll’s header had crossed the line. Di Matteo said: “From where I was standing I couldn’t see. I looked at the linesman and the linesman didn’t flag for the goal so I was quite happy for that. We have got a great keeper and he made a fantastic save today.”

There was no hint of the drama to follow when Ramires became the first Brazilian to score in the final. When he first arrived on these shores two years ago, Ramires looked too slight to make an impact. Clearly though, he has guts, heart, drive and determination. And what a mark he made yesterday as Juan Mata slipped a pass beyond Jose Enrique. The Liverpool full-back failed to recover his ground, allowing Ramires to bear down on goal. Jose Reina elected to gamble rather than save the actual shot when it was unleashed. Reina chose incorrectly, diving to his right, allowing the ball to beat him rather embarrassingly at the near post.

Dalglish’s team gradually worked their way back into the match but their momentum was halted by the half-time break and before they could get into their stride again, Chelsea had doubled their advantage.

Out of contract in the summer and with Chelsea apparently unwilling to offer the two-year extension he wants, Drogba could be in the final throes of his Blues career. If so, he will leave behind plenty of good memories. When he found space on the left side of Liverpool’s area and rattled a shot through Martin Skrtel’s legs and into the far corner, he was scoring for the eighth time in as many Wembley appearances.

It prompted Dalglish to make his move, introducing his £35 million portion of the £85m worth of striking talent that had been left on the bench, with Fernando Torres not starting for Chelsea. And Carroll responded immediately, turning John Terry before lashing his shot into the roof of Cech’s goal.

Afterwards Drogba described the victory as “the first step” as the Blues also aim for the Champions League.

Drogba said: “We achieved a great result because, after losing the game against Newcastle, it was very difficult for us. It’s the first step.”