2001 FA Cup Final

2001 FA Cup Final

The match programme cover.
Event	2000–01 FA Cup
Arsenal Liverpool 1 2
Date	12 May 2001
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Man of the Match	Michael Owen (Liverpool)
Referee	Steve Dunn (Gloucestershire)
Attendance	72,500
Weather	Clear 24 °C (75 °F)

The 2001 FA Cup Final was a football match between Arsenal and Liverpool on 12 May 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the 120th final and the first in the competition's history to be staged outside England, due to the ongoing reconstruction of Wembley Stadium, its usual venue. Arsenal appeared in their fourteenth final to Liverpool's twelfth.

As well as being the first Cup final to be staged outside England, it was also the first in which the managers of both teams were born outside of the British Isles – Liverpool's Gérard Houllier and Arsenal's Arsène Wenger both coming from France. Given both teams were in the highest tier of English football, the Premier League, they entered the competition in the third round. Each needed to progress through five rounds to reach the final. Arsenal's progress was relatively comfortable; after scoring six past Queens Park Rangers, they knocked out holders Chelsea in the fifth round and later came from behind to beat local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final. Liverpool by contrast made hard work of overcoming lower-league opponents Tranmere Rovers and Wycombe Wanderers in the latter rounds of the competition.

The final followed a familiar pattern of Arsenal dictating the pace and creating chances, but failing to breach the Liverpool defence. Arsenal had a penalty appeal turned down in the first half, when defender Stéphane Henchoz handled the ball to deny Thierry Henry a goalscoring opportunity. Henchoz's partner Sami Hyypiä made a series of goalline clearances during the second half, but was helpless to stop Arsenal taking the lead in the 72nd minute. Liverpool responded by making changes and equalised in the 83rd minute; Arsenal's failure to deal with a free-kick presented Michael Owen the chance to score. Owen then outpaced Lee Dixon and Tony Adams to score his second and the match winner, two minutes before the end of normal time.

Liverpool's victory marked the second part of their unique treble of the 2000–01 season: they had won the Football League Cup in late February and would win the UEFA Cup four days later.

Route to the final

Main article: 2000–01 FA Cup

The FA Cup is English football's primary cup competition. Clubs in the Premier League enter the FA Cup in the third round and are drawn randomly out of a hat with the remaining clubs. If a match is drawn, a replay comes into force, ordinarily at the ground of the team who were away for the first game. As with league fixtures, FA Cup matches are subject to change in the event of games being selected for television coverage and this often can be influenced by clashes with other competitions.

Arsenal

Round	Opposition	Score
3rd	Carlisle United (a)	1–0
4th	Queens Park Rangers (a)	6–0
5th	Chelsea (h)	3–1
6th	Blackburn Rovers (h)	3–0
Semi-final	Tottenham Hotspur (n)	2–1
Key: (h) = Home venue; (a) = Away venue; (n) = Neutral venue.

Arsenal entered the competition in the third round and their cup run started with an away tie against Carlisle United. Although the home side created numerous chances in the opening minutes and looked likeliest to score, Arsenal took the lead in the 22nd minute through Sylvain Wiltord. Poor finishing from both teams thereafter meant Arsenal progressed by a slender scoreline. In the fourth round, Arsenal faced Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. The visitors’ first goal came around the half-hour mark; defender Ashley Cole cleared Peter Crouch’s goal-bound header and from that Arsenal launched a counterattack. Lee Dixon’s cross inadvertently met Chris Plummer who scored an own goal. Wiltord extended Arsenal’s lead a minute later, and QPR conceded another own goal early in the second half which sealed the tie in the visitors' favour. Arsenal finished as comfortable 6–0 winners, representing the club's best away win in the FA Cup for 64 years.

In the fifth round Arsenal played the cup holders Chelsea at home. Throughout the tie Arsenal's centre-back partnership of Oleh Luzhny and Igors Stepanovs struggled against the pace of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who equalised for Chelsea after Thierry Henry gave the home side the lead. Wiltord replaced Robert Pirès in the second half and scored twice to settle the match. In the sixth round Arsenal enjoyed a comfortable win against Blackburn Rovers of the First Division, where Wiltord continued his record of scoring in every round.

Arsenal faced Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final and it was their local rivals who had taken the lead in the 14th minute. Vieira equalised just after Campbell was taken off the pitch to receive treatment. Tottenham managed to withstand pressure from Arsenal for most of the second half, but came unstuck in the 73rd minute when Robert Pirès scored the decisive goal.

Liverpool

Round	Opposition	Score
3rd	Rotherham United (h)	3–0
4th	Leeds United (a)	0–2
5th	Manchester City (h)	4–2
6th	Tranmere Rovers (a)	4–2
Semi-final	Wycombe Wanderers (n)	2–1
Key: (h) = Home venue; (a) = Away venue; (n) = Neutral venue.

Liverpool entered the competition in the third round, where they were drawn against Second Division side Rotherham United at home. Igor Bišćan was sent off in the tie for a second bookable offence, moments after Emile Heskey had scored. Dietmar Hamann extended Liverpool's lead in the 73rd minute and a further goal by Heskey ensured their progress in the competition.

Liverpool's opponent in the fourth round was Leeds United. The match was played at Elland Road on 27 January 2001 in front of a near-capacity crowd of 37,108. The home team enjoyed much of the possession, but struggled to find a breakthrough as Liverpool's defence stood firm. Two minutes before the 90, Barmby – on as a substitute – scored the winning goal, rebounding a shot that came off the post. Barmby then turned provider for Liverpool's second, setting up Heskey to score.

Anfield hosted Manchester City in the fifth round; it was the start of a decisive week for Liverpool as they faced Roma midweek in the UEFA Cup and then Birmingham City in the 2001 Football League Cup Final. Liverpool were awarded a penalty after five minutes, as goalkeeper Nicky Weaver fouled Vladimír Šmicer inside the 18-yard box. Jari Litmanen converted the spot kick to give Liverpool the lead, which quickly became 2–0 when Heskey's shot found its way past Weaver. Andrei Kanchelskis's goal in the 28th minute halved the scoreline, but Šmicer and Markus Babbel each scored in the second half to put Liverpool in a commanding lead. City persisted and in stoppage time scored their second goal of the match; Shaun Goater's deflected shot did enough to beat goalkeeper Sander Westerveld.

Liverpool travelled to Prenton Park to play Tranmere Rovers in the sixth round. Danny Murphy and Michael Owen each scored in a first half which the visitors dominated play. Steve Yates pulled a goal back for Tranmere after half-time, but in the 52nd minute Steven Gerrard headed-in a cross to restore Liverpool's two-goal advantage. A mistake by Robbie Fowler gifted substitute Wayne Allison the chance to score, but the striker made amends as he converted a penalty kick in the 81st minute. In the semi-final, Liverpool faced Wycombe Wanderers at Villa Park. Goals from Heskey and Fowler and a consolation scored by Wycombe's captain Keith Ryan ensured Liverpool won 2–1 and earnt a place in the final.

Match

Summary

Arsenal in their usual home strip of red shirts and white shorts kicked off the match and immediately won a corner, which was dealt with by Westerveld. A run by Heskey six minutes later resulted in the player taking a tumble under Gilles Grimandi’s challenge, but his appeals for a penalty were ignored by referee Dunn. Arsenal began to dominate play, with Vieira at the heart of their best moves. The midfielder won a challenge with Heskey in the 17th minute and sent the ball in the direction of Ljungberg, who in turn passed it to Henry. The Frenchman went around Westerveld and shot the ball goalwards, which was cleared off the line by Henchoz. Television replays later showed the ball hitting Henchoz’s arm before going wide; although Henry appealed for a penalty, it was turned down as the incident was missed by both the referee and his assistant. Owen came close to scoring in the 20th minute, but for his shot to be blocked by Martin Keown. Arsenal continued to find the best openings, but struggled to split open the Liverpool defence. A long range effort by Grimandi was easily saved by Westerveld as the final approached the half-hour mark, and a duel between Wiltord and Carragher on the right side resulted in a Liverpool corner. Two minutes before the interval Henry was penalised for drifting into an offside position, having collected a long pass.

Liverpool resumed play and won a free-kick in the 48th minute; Murphy’s delivery found Heskey, whose header forced a save from Seaman. Arsenal enjoyed their best spell of the match soon afterwards, but failed to make use of their set-pieces. A free-kick taken by Pirès was easily handled by Westerveld, and nothing came out of the resulting corner. Pires and Henry combined in attack for Arsenal and the latter came close to scoring, had the Liverpool goalkeeper not intervened. The ball rebounded to Cole who shot goalwards, but Sami Hyypiä cleared off the line. Hamann was shown a yellow card for fouling Vieira in the 57th minute, and Houllier responded by replacing him with Gary McAllister four minutes later. The change had the desired effect as it brought composure to Liverpool's play, particularly in midfield. In the 62nd minute Ljungberg received a yellow card for a challenge on Šmicer. Arsenal squandered another chance, this time two minutes before the 70; Henry outpaced Henchoz and his rebounded shot found Ljungberg in the penalty area. The midfielder's effort, a chip over the advancing Westerveld, was cleared off the line by Hyypiä.

With 19 minutes left, Arsenal finally scored. A poor clearance by Westerveld fell to Grimandi, who passed the ball to Pirès. Ljungberg received it and rounded the goalkeeper to score, much to Wenger's delight. Henry missed a chance to give Arsenal a two-goal lead in the 74th minute, as his shot was point-blank saved by Westerveld and on the follow up cleared by Hyypiä. Both managers made changes in the final period of the game; Ray Parlour came on for Wiltord in order to protect Arsenal's lead, whereas Liverpool made an attacking double substitution – Fowler and Patrik Berger on for Šmicer and Murphy. Liverpool survived the onslaught and found a foothold in the game when Owen equalised with eight minutes left. Arsenal failed to clear substitute 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 weighted long ball pass from Berger, with the type of vision which had been earlier missing from their play, and he outpaced both Adams and Dixon before shooting low and accurately past Seaman, beating him at the far post. Liverpool held onto their lead for the few minutes remaining to win the final.

Details

Arsenal v Liverpool

12 May 2001 15:00 BST

Arsenal	1–2	Liverpool
Ljungberg  72'	Report	Owen  83', 88'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 72,500 Referee: Steve Dunn (Gloucestershire)

Arsenal

Liverpool

GK 1 David Seaman RB 2 Lee Dixon  90' CB 5 Martin Keown CB 6 Tony Adams (c) LB 29 Ashley Cole RM 8 Fredrik Ljungberg  62'  85' CM 18 Gilles Grimandi CM 4 Patrick Vieira LM 7 Robert Pirès CF 11 Sylvain Wiltord  76' CF 14 Thierry Henry Substitutes: GK 13 Alex Manninger DF 12 Lauren MF 15 Ray Parlour  76' FW 10 Dennis Bergkamp  90' FW 25 Nwankwo Kanu  85' Manager: Arsène Wenger

GK 1 Sander Westerveld RB 6 Markus Babbel CB 12 Sami Hyypiä (c) CB 2 Stéphane Henchoz LB 23 Jamie Carragher RM 13 Danny Murphy  77' CM 17 Steven Gerrard CM 16 Dietmar Hamann  57'  60' LM 7 Vladimír Šmicer  77' CF 8 Emile Heskey CF 10 Michael Owen Substitutes: GK 19 Pegguy Arphexad DF 27 Grégory Vignal MF 15 Patrik Berger  77' MF 21 Gary McAllister  60' FW 9 Robbie Fowler  77' Manager: Gérard Houllier

Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shootout if scores still level. Five named substitutes Maximum of 3 substitutions.

Statistics

Statistic	Arsenal	Liverpool
Goals scored	1	2
Possession	47%	53%
Shots on target	7	4
Shots off target	4	2
Corner kicks	4	5
Offsides	6	2
Fouls	18	17
Yellow cards	1	1
Red cards	0	0
Source:

Post-match and aftermath

Houllier was disappointed with Liverpool's start and noticed his players struggled with the humidity. He nevertheless saw set-pieces as an opportunity to score goals from and felt the equaliser turned the final in his team's favour: "Suddenly the confidence switches to the other camp. They're affected, they become a bit unsettled, and you keep going." Houllier revealed he gave a frank assessment of the task facing his players before the match; although in his words Arsenal were "...probably a bit better than us, probably more mature, more experienced, more ability in some areas," dealing with setbacks would make the difference on the day. He dismissed accusations that Liverpool were boring, rather describing his team as difficult to beat.

"On some occasions the will to win is more important than the skill to win."

Gérard Houllier speaking after the game

Wenger lamented Arsenal's inability to make possession count, saying: "It has happened all season. We don't finish." He criticised the referee for not sending off Henchoz, especially as linesman Kevin Pike told him the Liverpool defender had committed a foul. On reflection of the season, Wenger disagreed it was one of failure – "It is not easy to get to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the final of the FA Cup and to finish in the top three of the Premiership in the same season," but admitted he needed to make signings in order to strengthen the squad.

Journalists and pundits reviewing the final praised Liverpool’s tenacity; radio commentator Alan Green wrote in his News Letter column of 14 May 2001: “Simply, they never give up and when you have a player like Michael Owen within your ranks you believe that any situation can be rescued, as it was in the magnificent Millennium Stadium.” The Guardian correspondent David Lacey declared “The Owen of France '98 was reborn in Cardiff,” while Hugh McIlvanney of The Sunday Times called Owen “the master executioner of English football.” McIlvanney felt over the 90 minutes the Arsenal team were "unlucky to lose," lauding Vieira’s show in midfield. James Lawton’s match report in The Independent was not as empathetic; although in praise of Henry’s performance his indecision compared to Owen, demonstrated how “effect, not style, is everything” in football. Clive White of The Herald criticised Henry’s lack of end product, using the final and Arsenal’s European failure against Valencia to demonstrate how he would never be considered a “natural goalscorer”. Ron Atkinson said Liverpool’s winning goal came about because of Arsenal’s eagerness to attack, which left gaps in defence.

The final was broadcast live in the United Kingdom by both ITV and Sky Sports, with the former providing free-to-air coverage and Sky Sports 2 being the pay-TV alternative. ITV held the majority of the viewership, with an overnight peak audience of 7.8 million viewers.

Three days after the final Liverpool beat Alavés by five goals to four, to win the UEFA Cup and complete a treble of cup victories. Victory against Charlton Athletic on 20 May 2001 ensured Liverpool finished third in the Premier League and with that earn a place in the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League. Arsenal ended the season as league runners-up; a draw against Newcastle United was enough for them to secure second spot.

In his autobiography released a few years later, Gerrard reflected that Liverpool were fortunate to win, but was critical of Arsenal's "bitter" reaction: "Wenger and Ljungberg kept complaining about the hand-balls. Get real, boys. That's football. Grow up." He reserved special praise for his opponent Vieira however: "It was my job to try and stop him, but he definitely got the better of me that day. He's such a great player. He's so fit, and he dictates the pace of a game. There are a lot of things you can learn just by watching him."

See also

• 2001 Football League Cup Final
• 2001 FA Trophy Final