FA Cup Final 2001
Encyclopedia
The 2001 FA Cup Final was a football
match held at the Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff
on Saturday, 12 May 2001 and was the first final to be played outside of England. The game had an attendance of 72,000. The final was contested between Arsenal
and Liverpool
, with Liverpool winning 2–1, after Arsenal had led 1–0.
It was the second trophy of Liverpool's treble
-winning season of 2000–01
. They had won the Football League Cup
in late February and would win the UEFA Cup
the following week. It was their sixth FA Cup triumph to date, their previous triumph coming nine years earlier.
Arsenal, who had also finished runners-up in the league, were "double runners-up" for the second season running, having been runners-up in the league and the UEFA Cup
a year earlier.
was involved in the first contentious moment after six minutes, when he tumbled under a challenge from Gilles Grimandi, but referee Steve Dunn correctly waved away Liverpool's penalty appeals.
Ten minutes later, Arsenal had a much stronger claim for a penalty kick. Fredrik Ljungberg
released Thierry Henry
, who broke free of Liverpool's offside trap, skipped around goalkeeper Sander Westerveld
and fired a shot which was blocked on the line by the arm of Liverpool defender Stéphane Henchoz
. The officials failed to spot the offence, despite Henry's appeals.
Despite a couple of half-chances for Liverpool (a Michael Owen
shot that was closed down by Martin Keown
, and a Steven Gerrard
effort from long range that went well wide) there were no other major goalmouth incidents of the first half.
two minutes after the interval; Danny Murphy's free kick was met by Heskey's head, but he was only able to direct his effort straight at Seaman, who pushed it to safety with his left hand.
Arsenal had another serious scoring chance after 56 minutes. Thierry Henry juggled the ball and switched passes with compatriot Robert Pirès
, but was denied by Westerveld; Ashley Cole
got to the rebound first and fired goalwards, but Liverpool captain Sami Hyypiä
cleared off the line. Hyypiä rescued Liverpool again after 67 minutes, when he headed a Ljungberg lob off the line.
With 19 minutes left, Arsenal finally scored. Arsenal latched onto a poor clearance by Westerveld, and Robert Pirès played Ljungberg clean through; the Swede rounded the Dutch goalkeeper and fired home to make it 1–0. Moments later Henry was given a chance to make it 2–0, but was denied by an excellent point-blank save by Westerveld.
Liverpool survived the Arsenal onslaught, and finally, having made some key attacking substitutions, these including their highest goalscorer Robbie Fowler
, found a foothold in the game when Owen equalised with eight minutes left. Arsenal failed to clear substitute Gary McAllister
's free kick, and Owen pounced with a right foot finish past Seaman from eight yards. Liverpool's comeback was completed five minutes later in the 88th minute with extra time looming; Owen was released down the left by a terrifically weighted long ball pass from substitute Patrik Berger
, with the type of vision which had been earlier missing from their play, and he outpaced both Tony Adams
and Lee Dixon
before shooting low and accurately past Seaman, beating him at the far post. Liverpool held onto their lead for the few minutes remaining, and won the Cup.
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
LIVERPOOL:
|
GK
1
Sander Westerveld
RB
6
Markus Babbel
CB
2
Stéphane Henchoz
CB
12
Sami Hyypiä
(c)
LB
23
Jamie Carragher
RM
13
Danny Murphy
CM
17
Steven Gerrard
CM
16
Dietmar Hamann
LM
7
Vladimír Šmicer
CF
8
Emile Heskey
CF
10
Michael Owen
Substitutes:
GK
19
Pegguy Arphexad
DF
27
Grégory Vignal
MF
15
Patrik Berger
MF
21
Gary McAllister
FW
9
Robbie Fowler
Manager:
Gérard Houllier
0–1 Arsenal
Fourth Round: Queens Park Rangers
0–6 Arsenal
Fifth Round: Arsenal 3–1 Chelsea
Sixth Round: Arsenal 3–0 Blackburn Rovers
Semi-final: Tottenham Hotspur
1–2 Arsenal
Fourth Round: Leeds United 0–2 Liverpool
Fifth Round: Liverpool 4–2 Manchester City
Sixth Round: Tranmere Rovers
2–4 Liverpool
Semi-final: Liverpool 2–1 Wycombe Wanderers
|}
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
match held at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
on Saturday, 12 May 2001 and was the first final to be played outside of England. The game had an attendance of 72,000. The final was contested between Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, with Liverpool winning 2–1, after Arsenal had led 1–0.
It was the second trophy of Liverpool's treble
The Treble
The term treble or Treble is used in association football to refer to a team winning three trophies in a single season. Honours usually considered to contribute to a treble are the top-tier domestic league competition, domestic cup competitions, and continental tournaments; although this depends to...
-winning season of 2000–01
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
. They had won the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
in late February and would win the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
the following week. It was their sixth FA Cup triumph to date, their previous triumph coming nine years earlier.
Arsenal, who had also finished runners-up in the league, were "double runners-up" for the second season running, having been runners-up in the league and the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
a year earlier.
First half
Liverpool were intent on adopting a counter-attacking approach, allowing Arsenal space and possession until they reached the danger area. Arsenal dominated the opening exchanges, but first half ended as a stalemate despite Arsenal's dominance. Liverpool's Emile HeskeyEmile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995...
was involved in the first contentious moment after six minutes, when he tumbled under a challenge from Gilles Grimandi, but referee Steve Dunn correctly waved away Liverpool's penalty appeals.
Ten minutes later, Arsenal had a much stronger claim for a penalty kick. Fredrik Ljungberg
Fredrik Ljungberg
Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear...
released Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
, who broke free of Liverpool's offside trap, skipped around goalkeeper Sander Westerveld
Sander Westerveld
Sander Westerveld is a Dutch professional football goalkeeper. He left Sparta Rotterdam at the end of the 2007–08 Eredivisie season to play for Monza, and is currently playing for South African Premier Soccer League club Ajax Cape Town....
and fired a shot which was blocked on the line by the arm of Liverpool defender Stéphane Henchoz
Stéphane Henchoz
Stéphane Henchoz is a former Swiss international footballer who last played for Blackburn Rovers as a defender. He has been capped 72 times and played for his country at Euro 1996 and Euro 2004.- Early career :...
. The officials failed to spot the offence, despite Henry's appeals.
Despite a couple of half-chances for Liverpool (a Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
shot that was closed down by Martin Keown
Martin Keown
Martin Raymond Keown is a former English footballer. Widely regarded as one of the best man-markers of his generation, Keown played for six different football clubs during his career but it was with Arsenal that he will be best remembered. Keown made over three hundred appearances for Arsenal...
, and a Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
effort from long range that went well wide) there were no other major goalmouth incidents of the first half.
Second half
Liverpool finally troubled Arsenal goalkeeper David SeamanDavid Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
two minutes after the interval; Danny Murphy's free kick was met by Heskey's head, but he was only able to direct his effort straight at Seaman, who pushed it to safety with his left hand.
Arsenal had another serious scoring chance after 56 minutes. Thierry Henry juggled the ball and switched passes with compatriot Robert Pirès
Robert Pirès
Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04...
, but was denied by Westerveld; Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....
got to the rebound first and fired goalwards, but Liverpool captain Sami Hyypiä
Sami Hyypiä
Sami Tuomas Hyypiä is a retired European Cup winning Finnish footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at...
cleared off the line. Hyypiä rescued Liverpool again after 67 minutes, when he headed a Ljungberg lob off the line.
With 19 minutes left, Arsenal finally scored. Arsenal latched onto a poor clearance by Westerveld, and Robert Pirès played Ljungberg clean through; the Swede rounded the Dutch goalkeeper and fired home to make it 1–0. Moments later Henry was given a chance to make it 2–0, but was denied by an excellent point-blank save by Westerveld.
Liverpool survived the Arsenal onslaught, and finally, having made some key attacking substitutions, these including their highest goalscorer Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
, found a foothold in the game when Owen equalised with eight minutes left. Arsenal failed to clear substitute Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20...
's free kick, and Owen pounced with a right foot finish past Seaman from eight yards. Liverpool's comeback was completed five minutes later in the 88th minute with extra time looming; Owen was released down the left by a terrifically weighted long ball pass from substitute Patrik Berger
Patrik Berger
Patrik Berger is a retired Czech footballer. He has played in Czech Republic, Germany, and England. He is best remembered for his time at Liverpool....
, with the type of vision which had been earlier missing from their play, and he outpaced both Tony Adams
Tony Adams (footballer)
Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...
and Lee Dixon
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once....
before shooting low and accurately past Seaman, beating him at the far post. Liverpool held onto their lead for the few minutes remaining, and won the Cup.
Match details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> | ARSENAL: | |||
| GK | 1 | David Seaman David Seaman David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury... |
||
| RB | 2 | Lee Dixon Lee Dixon Lee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once.... |
||
| CB | 5 | Martin Keown Martin Keown Martin Raymond Keown is a former English footballer. Widely regarded as one of the best man-markers of his generation, Keown played for six different football clubs during his career but it was with Arsenal that he will be best remembered. Keown made over three hundred appearances for Arsenal... |
||
| CB | 6 | Tony Adams Tony Adams (footballer) Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends... (c) |
||
| LB | 29 | Ashley Cole Ashley Cole Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world.... |
||
| RM | 7 | Robert Pirès Robert Pirès Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04... |
||
| CM | 18 | Gilles Grimandi Gilles Grimandi Gilles Grimandi is a retired French footballer, who currently is a scout for Arsenal.- Club career :... |
||
| CM | 4 | Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City.... |
||
| LM | 8 |  Fredrik LjungbergFredrik Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear... |
||
| CF | 11 | Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Claude Wiltord is a French footballer who currently plays for FC Nantes. With the French national team, Wiltord has won Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.... |
||
| CF | 14 | Thierry Henry Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and... |
||
| Substitutes: | ||||
| GK | 13 |  Alexander Manninger |
||
| DF | 12 |  LaurenLauren Etame Mayer Laureano Bisan-Etame Mayer , commonly known as Lauren, is a retired Cameroonian footballer of Equatoguinean origin, who formerly played for the Cameroonian national team.-Early career:... |
||
| MF | 15 | Ray Parlour Ray Parlour Raymond "Ray" Parlour , is a retired English footballer. He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. During his Arsenal career he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé"; although the nickname was given with an ironic sense of humour, on account of his solid performance but... |
||
| FW | 10 | Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level... |
||
| FW | 25 |  Nwankwo KanuNwankwo Kanu Nwankwo Kanu, OON , or simply Kanu, is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Portsmouth. He was also a member of the Nigerian national team for 16 years from 1994 until 2010... |
||
| Manager: | ||||
| Arsène Wenger Arsène Wenger Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996... |
||||
Sander WesterveldSander Westerveld
Sander Westerveld is a Dutch professional football goalkeeper. He left Sparta Rotterdam at the end of the 2007–08 Eredivisie season to play for Monza, and is currently playing for South African Premier Soccer League club Ajax Cape Town....
Markus BabbelMarkus Babbel
Markus Babbel is a former international German football player, who is currently manager of German Bundesliga club Hertha BSC. He played as a defender for clubs in Germany and England.-Career:...
Stéphane HenchozStéphane Henchoz
Stéphane Henchoz is a former Swiss international footballer who last played for Blackburn Rovers as a defender. He has been capped 72 times and played for his country at Euro 1996 and Euro 2004.- Early career :...
Sami HyypiäSami Hyypiä
Sami Tuomas Hyypiä is a retired European Cup winning Finnish footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at...
(c)
Jamie CarragherJamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
Danny Murphy Steven GerrardSteven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
Dietmar HamannDietmar Hamann
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a...
Vladimír ŠmicerVladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer is a former Czech football midfielder and forward player. Šmicer was a devout player of Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. He also played notably for Lens in France, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England, where he played several...
Emile HeskeyEmile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995...
Michael OwenMichael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
Pegguy ArphexadPegguy Arphexad
Pegguy Arphexad is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. An excellent shot stopper, he gained a reputation as a spot kick saving expert.-Club career:...
Grégory VignalGregory Vignal
Grégory Vignal is a French footballer. A left full back or midfielder, he is currently a free agent, having played most recently for Premier League club Birmingham City....
Patrik BergerPatrik Berger
Patrik Berger is a retired Czech footballer. He has played in Czech Republic, Germany, and England. He is best remembered for his time at Liverpool....
Gary McAllisterGary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20...
Robbie FowlerRobbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
Gérard HoullierGérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
MATCH RULES
|
Arsenal
Third Round: Carlisle UnitedCarlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
0–1 Arsenal
Fourth Round: Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
0–6 Arsenal
Fifth Round: Arsenal 3–1 Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
Sixth Round: Arsenal 3–0 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
Semi-final: Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
1–2 Arsenal
Liverpool
Third Round: Liverpool 3–0 Rotherham UnitedRotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
Fourth Round: Leeds United 0–2 Liverpool
Fifth Round: Liverpool 4–2 Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
Sixth Round: Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
2–4 Liverpool
Semi-final: Liverpool 2–1 Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
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