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)[1]

The 2001 FA Cup Final was the 120th final of the FA Cup. It took place on Saturday 12 May 2001 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and was contested between Arsenal and Liverpool.

Liverpool came from behind to win 2–1, thus winning the FA Cup for the sixth time. It was the second trophy of their treble-winning season of 2000–01: they had won the Football League Cup in late February and would win the UEFA Cup four days later.

As well as being the first FA Cup Final to be staged outside of England, it was also the first in which the managers of both teams were from outside the British Isles – Liverpool's Gérard Houllier and Arsenal's Arsène Wenger both coming from France.

The match had an attendance of 72,500, while live coverage on ITV was watched by an average of around five million viewers.^[2]

Road to Cardiff

Arsenal

Third Round: Carlisle United 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

Liverpool Third Round: Liverpool 3–0 Rotherham United 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

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 Heskey 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.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

Second half

Liverpool finally troubled Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman 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.^[3]

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.

Match details

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 officials[6] Assistant referees: Kevin Pike (Dorset) Mike Tingley (Berks & Bucks) Fourth official: Steve Bennett (Kent) Man of the match Michael Owen (Liverpool)

Match rules[7] 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shootout if scores still level. Five named substitutes Maximum of three substitutions

Statistics

Statistic[8][9]	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

Post-match and aftermath

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.”^[10] The Guardian correspondent David Lacey declared “The Owen of France '98 was reborn in Cardiff,”^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] Clive White of The Herald criticised Henry’s lack of end product, using the final and Arsenal’s European fixture against Valencia to demonstrate how he would never be considered a “natural goalscorer”.^[14] Ron Atkinson said Liverpool’s winning goal came about because of Arsenal’s eagerness to attack, which left gaps in defence.^[15]

See also

• 2001 FA Trophy Final

Footnotes

External links

The FA Match Report (Archived) LFC History Match Report Liverpool Route to Final Arsenal Route to Final

Liverpool Player Profiles Arsenal Player Profiles Gerrard Houllier Reaction Cup Final Player Ratings

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Arsenal F.C. matches FA Cup Finals 1927 1930 1932 1936 1950 1952 1971 1972 1978 1979 1980 1993 1998 2001 2002 2003 2005 2014 2015 Football League War Cup Finals 1941 1943 League Cup Finals 1968 1969 1987 1988 1993 2007 2011 FA Community Shields 1930 1931 1933 1934 1935 1936 1938 1948 1953 1979 1989 1991 1993 1998 1999 2002 2003 2004 2005 2014 UEFA Champions League Final 2006 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Finals 1980 1994 1995 UEFA Cup Final 2000 riots Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final 1970 European Super Cup 1994 Other matches Leicester City 6–6 Arsenal (1930) Aston Villa 1–7 Arsenal (1935) Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (1989) Manchester United–Arsenal brawl (1990) Wrexham 2–1 Arsenal (1992) Battle of Old Trafford (2003) Battle of the Buffet (2004)

Liverpool F.C. matches FA Cup Finals 1914 1950 1965 1971 1974 1977 1986 1988 1989 1992 1996 2001 2006 2012 League Cup Finals 1978 1981 1982 1983 1984 1987 1995 2001 2003 2005 2012 FA Community Shields 1922 1964 1965 1966 1971 1974 1976 1977 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1988 1989 1990 1992 2001 2002 2006 UEFA Champions League Finals 1977 1978 1981 1984 1985 2005 2007 European Cup Winners' Cup Final 1966 UEFA Cup Finals 1973 1976 2001 UEFA Super Cups 1977 1978 1981 1984 2001 2005 Intercontinental Cups 1978 1981 1984 FIFA Club World Championship Final 2005 Other matches Ajax 5–1 Liverpool (1966) 1983–84 European Cup semi-final 1986 English Super Cup Final Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (1989) Liverpool 9-0 Crystal Palace (1989) Liverpool 4–3 Newcastle (1996)