The FA Cup, for many of the current Liverpool squad, is the only trophy they haven’t won so far at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men take on Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday afternoon, looking to win both domestic trophies for the first time since 2000/01, and for just the second time in their history.
The Reds have won the FA Cup seven times, but the most recent success was, incredibly, 16 years ago.
The last five finals the Reds have played in the competition have resulted in three wins and two defeats.
Here’s a look back at what happened in those last five FA Cup finals for LFC:
Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea (2012)
Is it really a decade since Liverpool last appeared in an FA Cup final? Where does the time go?
The Reds came up against Chelsea back in 2012 as Sir Kenny Dalglish‘s side looked to add another trophy to the League Cup, sealed three months earlier.
Sadly, it was the Blues who prevailed at Wembley, taking the lead through Ramires, before Didier Drogba, so often Liverpool’s scourge, made it 2-0.
Andy Carroll’s goal gave the Merseysiders hope and he thought he had equalised with a header that Petr Cech somehow kept out.
Did it cross the line? We will never know. But it felt like the footballing Gods were trying to even out the Luis Garcia “ghost goal” from 2005.
Liverpool’s first Cup final appearance at the new Wembley had not been a happy one.
Liverpool starting XI: Reina; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Spearing, Henderson, Gerrard; Downing, Bellamy, Suarez.
Liverpool 3-3 West Ham – 3-1 on penalties (2006)
Cardiff was a superb venue in the years that Wembley was being rebuilt, especially for Liverpool.
The Reds enjoyed so much success in Wales and this triumph over West Ham in 2006 remains one of the great FA Cup finals.
Quite what happened to Rafa Benitez’s side in the opening half-hour we’ll never know, but they found themselves 2-0 down, not helped by a calamitous Jamie Carragher own goal.
The Reds battled back and made it 2-2, only for future Anfield flop Paul Konchesky to send a looping cross into the net.
It was left to Steven Gerrard to score possibly his most iconic goal in a career littered with them, taking the game to extra-time with a still-unfathomable strike.
Pepe Reina did the rest in the subsequent penalty shootout, making three saves, and Liverpool had won their seventh, and still most recent, FA Cup crown.
Liverpool starting XI: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, Kewell; Cisse, Crouch.
Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal (2001)
There was a time when Michael Owen was unstoppable on a football pitch.
The calendar year of 2001, when he won the Ballon d’Or, was arguably his absolute peak, and his FA Cup final heroics against Arsenal will never be forgotten.
Liverpool were clear underdogs against a wonderful Gunners side and Arsene Wenger’s side completely dominated proceedings in a red-hot Cardiff.
The Reds had luck on their side, however, with Stephane Henchoz fortunate not to be sent off for a handball on the line.
Then Owen twice struck clinically late on to turn the game on its head – his winner, and the celebrations that followed, are still legendary to this day.
Liverpool starting XI: Westerveld; Babbel, Hyypia, Henchoz, Carragher; Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann, Smicer; Heskey, Owen.
Liverpool 0-1 Man United (1996)
As FA Cup finals go, this is about as depressing as it gets for Liverpool in their history.
Having missed out on the Premier League title to Man United, Roy Evans’ ‘Spice Boys’ were hoping to beat their rivals at Wembley, fancying their chances, too.
An awful final played out, though, with almost nothing of note happening before Eric Cantona broke Reds’ hearts late in the day.
From the moment the players appeared in those cream suits, you feared the worst, and things didn’t get any better on the pitch.
That mid-90s side was full of special talent but lacked substance, failing to get over the finish line time and time again.
Liverpool starting XI: James; Wright, Scales, Babb; McAteer, Redknapp, Barnes, Jones, McManaman; Collymore, Fowler.
Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland (1992)
This is arguably Liverpool’s least-cherished FA Cup win, coming at a time when the glory days were well and truly over.
Graeme Souness was overseeing a fractious period in the club’s history 30 years ago, but they did at least enjoy a positive outing against Sunderland.
Michael Thomas opened the scoring for Liverpool before Ian Rush scored his customary FA Cup final goal – he bagged five overall in his glittering career.
It was the only trophy the Reds would win between 1990 and 1995 and it was another nine years before they tasted success in the competition again.
Liverpool starting XI: Grobbelaar; Jones, Nicol, Wright, Burrows; Houghton, Molby, Thomas, McManaman; Saunders, Rush.
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