Chelsea F.C.–Liverpool F.C. Rivalry

The Chelsea F.C.–Liverpool F.C. rivalry is an inter-city rivalry between English professional football clubs Chelsea and Liverpool. Chelsea play their home games at Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool play their home games at Anfield.

Though both clubs have frequently competed in the same division for over a century, the modern rivalry between Chelsea and Liverpool began in the early 2000s, when the two clubs clashed repeatedly in cup competitions, particularly in the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. The clubs have competed in seven major cup finals: the 2005 League Cup final, which Chelsea won 3–2 after extra time, the 2006 Community Shield, which Liverpool won 2–1, the 2012 FA Cup final, which Chelsea won 2–1, the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, which Liverpool won 5–4 on penalties, the 2022 EFL Cup and FA Cup finals, both of which saw Liverpool win on penalties after two goalless affairs, and the 2024 EFL Cup final, which Liverpool won 1–0 after extra time. The two clubs also met in five consecutive Champions League campaigns; in the group stage of the 2005–06 season, where both legs finished as goalless draws, in the quarter-finals of the 2008–09 season, which Chelsea won 7–5 on aggregate, and in the semi-finals of the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons, with Liverpool winning the former two and Chelsea winning the latter one.

Overall, Liverpool have won more of the meetings, defeating Chelsea 87 times to their 66 wins, and a further 46 games ended in draws, as of their latest clash in May 2025. Chelsea's record win over the Reds was a 6–1 thrashing at Stamford Bridge in August 1937, whereas Liverpool's biggest win was a 6–0 home win in April 1935. Liverpool also lead in terms of total trophies won, with 69 to Chelsea's 35.

Background

Chelsea

In 1904, Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium in Fulham with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearby Fulham F.C. was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium. As there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough of Chelsea was chosen for the new club; names like ''Kensington FC'', ''Stamford Bridge FC'' and ''London FC'' were also considered. Chelsea Football Club was founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook), opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards.

Chelsea won promotion to the First Division in their second season, and yo-yoed between the First and Second Divisions in its early years. The team reached the 1915 FA Cup final, where they lost to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished third in the First Division in 1920, the club's best league campaign to that point. Chelsea had a reputation for signing star players and attracted large crowds. The club had the highest average attendance in English football in ten separate seasons including 1907–08, 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1913–14 and 1919–20. They were FA Cup semi-finalists in 1920 and 1932, and remained in the First Division throughout the 1930s, but success eluded the club in the inter-war years.

Liverpool

Liverpool Football Club was founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to Goodison Park in 1892 and Houlding founded Liverpool F.C. to play at Anfield. Originally named "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd" (Everton Athletic for short), the club became Liverpool F.C. in March 1892 and gained official recognition three months later, after The Football Association refused to recognise the club as Everton.

Liverpool played their first match on 1 September 1892, a pre-season Exhibition game, friendly match against Rotherham Town F.C. (1878), Rotherham Town, which they won 7–1. The team Liverpool fielded against Rotherham was composed entirely of Scottish players—the players who came from Scotland to play in England in those days were known as the Scotch Professors. List of Liverpool F.C. managers, Manager John McKenna had recruited the players after a Scout (sport), scouting trip to Scotland—so they became known as the "team of Macs". The team won the Lancashire League (football), Lancashire League in its debut season and joined the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After the club was promoted to the Football League First Division, First Division in 1896, Tom Watson (football manager), Tom Watson was appointed manager. He led Liverpool to its first league title in 1901, before winning it again in 1906.

History

Competitive matches and Liverpool success (1907–2002)

Chelsea and Liverpool were not traditional rivals, meeting first for the first time on 25 December 1907 at Anfield in the 1907–08 Football League#First Division, Football League First Division, which ended in a 4–1 win for Chelsea. However, for the next 96 years, Chelsea would only manage one single league title, which came in 1955, whereas Liverpool (who were already two-time champions) would go on to win the First Division title sixteen more times, cementing the Reds' status as one of the biggest clubs in England, along with Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry, major rivals Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, whereas Chelsea were considered to be a mid-table club, and their rivalry with Liverpool was non-existent during the years leading up to the 21st century.

Abramovich takeover and rivalry beginnings (2003–04)

The seeds of the Chelsea vs. Liverpool rivalry were beginning to be sowed in May 2003. The first major meeting that would spark this feud was on the final day of the 2002–03 FA Premier League, 2002–03 Premier League season, where fourth-placed Chelsea were to play fifth-placed Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in a clash for UEFA Champions League football. Both teams were level on 64 points, with the Blues having a +8 superior goal difference. The three teams that were above them, Manchester United F.C., Manchester United in 1st, Arsenal F.C., Arsenal in 2nd and Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United in 3rd had already accumulated enough points to qualify for 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, next season's Champions League, and sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers were unable to qualify, meaning Liverpool had to defeat Chelsea otherwise they would miss out on Champions League football next season. A goal from Sami Hyypiä in the 11th minute put the Reds 1–0 up, but Chelsea equalised just two minutes later through Marcel Desailly. Fourteen minutes later, Chelsea found themselves ahead via a Jesper Grønkjær strike. Steven Gerrard was Dismissal (football), dismissed two minutes from full-time, as Chelsea won 2–1 and ensured their place in the Champions League next season, with Liverpool having to settle for 2003–04 UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League, Europa League) football instead.

In July 2003, long-time chairman of Chelsea Ken Bates sold the club to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for Pound sterling, £140,000,000. Chelsea spent £103,000,000 on transfers in the summer of 2003, which included the signings of Joe Cole from West Ham United F.C., West Ham United and Hernán Crespo from Inter Milan. Unlike the previous years, Chelsea under Abramovich had now become serious title contenders, threatening the likes of Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and Arsenal F.C., Arsenal, who combined had won ten of the first eleven Premier League titles.

The first meeting between Chelsea and Liverpool after the Abramovich takeover was on the first matchday of the 2003–04 FA Premier League, new campaign, at Anfield. Chelsea won 2–1, courtesy of goals from Juan Sebastián Verón and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Liverpool would get revenge in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in January 2004, which saw Bruno Cheyrou condemn Chelsea to a 1–0 home defeat. However, despite the mass spend of Chelsea, they would still be unable to win the league, finishing as runners-up to the The Invincibles (English football), undefeated Arsenal. Meanwhile, Liverpool finished in fourth place, nineteen points behind Chelsea, but still qualifying for the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Champions League.

Mourinho vs. Benítez (2004–07)

In the summer of 2004, Chelsea and Liverpool had respectively appointed managers José Mourinho and Rafael Benítez, which was the beginning of a vicious rivalry between the pair. In their first season as rivals, they clashed five times, including two Premier League victories for Mourinho, both of which finished 1–0 to Chelsea and both of those goals being scored by Joe Cole.

2005 League Cup final

On 27 February 2005, Liverpool faced Chelsea in the 2005 Football League Cup final, final of the 2004–05 Football League Cup, Football League Cup. This was Liverpool's tenth appearance in a EFL Cup, Football League Cup final, having won seven of them (1981 Football League Cup final, 1981, 1982 Football League Cup final, 1982, 1983 Football League Cup final, 1983, 1984 Football League Cup final, 1984, 1995 Football League Cup final, 1995, 2001 Football League Cup final, 2001, 2003 Football League Cup final, 2003) and losing twice (1978 Football League Cup final, 1978, 1987 Football League Cup final, 1987). For Chelsea, this was their fourth appearance in the final, winning the cup final in 1965 Football League Cup final, 1965 and 1998 Football League Cup final, 1998, and losing in 1972 Football League Cup final, 1972. Liverpool had defeated Millwall F.C., Millwall, Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur and Watford F.C., Watford en route to the final, whereas Chelsea got past West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United, West London derby, West London rivals Fulham F.C., Fulham and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United to get to the final.

A crowd of 78,000 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff saw John Arne Riise score a volley inside the first minute to put Liverpool ahead. They managed to hold on to this lead for 79 minutes, until Steven Gerrard headed into his own net to give Chelsea a lifeline. José Mourinho was also made to watch from the stands after making a gesture to the Liverpool fans. The score was 1–1 at full-time, meaning it would be going to extra-time. Goals from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kežman put Chelsea 3–1 up. A goal from Antonio Núñez (footballer), Antonio Núñez a minute later reduced the deficit for Liverpool, but were unable to score again, as Chelsea won 3–2 and the League Cup for the third time.

Following the match, Mourinho defended the gesture that saw him dismissed, claiming that it had been intended for the media and not Liverpool fans: "The signal of close your mouth was not for them but for the press, they speak too much and in my opinion they try to do everything to disturb Chelsea. Wait, don't speak too soon. We lost two matches and in my opinion you (the media) try to take confidence from us and put pressure on us." Mourinho was happy that Chelsea had won but said the victory was not special: "It's just one more. I had a few before this, I'm very happy to win. It's important for the fans, for the club and especially for the players."

Luis García "ghost goal"

Just two months after the League Cup final, the two clubs met yet again in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League knockout stage#Chelsea v Liverpool, semi-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Champions League. The first leg at Stamford Bridge ended in a goalless stalemate, however, in the second leg at Anfield, Liverpool controversially won 1–0, thanks to a goal scored by Luis García (footballer, born 1978), Luis García, which despite Chelsea's attempts to clear the ball off the line, the goal was given. It was dubbed as a "ghost goal" by José Mourinho, which popularised the term for other future incidents. This would seal Liverpool's place in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, Champions League final, where they would take on AC Milan, coming back from 3–0 down and winning the Champions League on penalties.

Prior to the match, Chelsea were in hot pursuit of Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard. Liverpool had rejected a £32,000,000 bid from Chelsea, however, in a shocking turn of events, Gerrard had rejected a £100,000-a-week contract offer and had submitted a transfer request, just six weeks after inspiring the comeback to help Liverpool win the Champions League. He eventually changed his mind, soon after signing a new four-year deal and later stating that he would rather win one Premier League title at Liverpool than multiple at Chelsea, as it would mean more to him. Chelsea's failed signing of Liverpool's elite poster boy resulted in yet more bad blood developing between the two sets of supporters.

As for the 2004–05 FA Premier League, Premier League season, Chelsea were runaway winners, winning their first Premier League title (second overall), finishing twelve points clear of second-placed Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry, London rivals Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. They amassed a then record-setting 95 points, also winning 29 games, a record they broke in 2016-17 with 30 wins (both broken by Manchester City F.C., Manchester City in 2017–18 Premier League, 2017–18) and conceding 15 goals, a record that still stands to this day as the best defensive record in Premier League history. Liverpool, meanwhile, finished fifth (a regression from 2003–04 FA Premier League#League table, the previous season), behind their Merseyside derby, Merseyside derby rivals Everton, who finished fourth, and 37 points behind Chelsea. However, this also meant that despite being the winners of the 2004–05 Champions League, they were not guaranteed a place in 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, next season's edition, as they had finished outside of the top four of the Premier League. On 10 June 2005, UEFA decided to grant Liverpool special dispensation to defend their title, however, they would have to enter the Champions League in the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League#First qualifying round, first qualifying round, and were denied country protection, which meant they could face any English team (Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, or Everton) at any stage of the competition.

Liverpool would go on to defeat The New Saints F.C., The New Saints, FBK Kaunas and CSKA Sofia in the Champions League first, second and third qualifying rounds, respectively, to advance to the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League#Group stage, group stage, where they were drawn in 2005–06 UEFA Champions League group stage#Group G, Group G, along with Chelsea, R.S.C. Anderlecht, Anderlecht, and Real Betis, although both of their matches against Chelsea were 0–0 draws. Liverpool would finish top of the group with 12 points, with Chelsea finishing second, just behind the Reds with 11. Mourinho's Chelsea would manage to get the better of Liverpool in their Premier League clashes, defeating them 4–1 away at Anfield in October 2005, which made them the first Premier League opposition team to score four goals at Anfield (replicated by Arsenal in 2009 and Manchester City in 2021) and also beating them 2–0 at Stamford Bridge in February 2006. However, Benítez's Liverpool were victorious in their 2005–06 FA Cup, semi-final encounter in the 2005–06 FA Cup, FA Cup, winning 2–1, ending Chelsea's hopes for their first ever Double (association football), double and progressing to the 2006 FA Cup final, FA Cup final, where Steven Gerrard would score an equaliser in added time to help Liverpool defeat West Ham United F.C., West Ham United 3–1 on penalties. After the match, Mourinho refused to shake Benitez's hand and claimed that the best team had lost, pointing to his side's superior league position, stating: "Did the best team win? I don't think so. In a one-off game, maybe they will surprise me and they can do it. In the Premiership, the distance between the teams is 45 points over two seasons."

In the 2005–06 FA Premier League, Premier League, Chelsea would win the Premier League for a second consecutive season, finishing on 91 points, whereas Liverpool, who were also title contenders throughout the season as well, finished third on 82 points, a point behind Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry, fierce rivals Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, who were second, and 9 points behind Chelsea.

2006 Community Shield

As Chelsea and Liverpool were the respective winners of the 2005–06 FA Premier League, 2005–06 Premier League and the 2005–06 FA Cup, this meant that they would be playing each other in the 2006 FA Community Shield on 13 August 2006, at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, the same venue that hosted the 2005 Football League Cup final a year and a half prior, which saw Chelsea beat Liverpool 3–2. Chelsea were the 2005 FA Community Shield, defending champions, having beaten their Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry, London rivals Arsenal F.C., Arsenal the previous year. The Blues were making their sixth appearance in the Community Shield, having also won in 1955 FA Charity Shield, 1955 and 2000 FA Charity Shield, 2000, and losing in 1970 FA Charity Shield, 1970 and 1997 FA Charity Shield, 1997. Liverpool, on the other hand, were appearing for the 21st time, emerging outright victorious eight times (1966 FA Charity Shield, 1966, 1976 FA Charity Shield, 1976, 1979 FA Charity Shield, 1979, 1990 FA Charity Shield, 1980, 1982 FA Charity Shield, 1982, 1988 FA Charity Shield, 1988, 1989 FA Charity Shield, 1989, 2001 FA Charity Shield, 2001), sharing the shield six times (1964 FA Charity Shield, 1964, 1965 FA Charity Shield, 1965, 1974 FA Charity Shield, 1974, 1977 FA Charity Shield, 1977, 1986 FA Charity Shield, 1986, 1990 FA Charity Shield, 1990) and losing it six times (1922 FA Charity Shield, 1922, 1971 FA Charity Shield, 1971, 1983 FA Charity Shield, 1983, 1984 FA Charity Shield, 1984, 1992 FA Charity Shield, 1992, 2002 FA Community Shield, 2002). In the match, John Arne Riise opened the scoring for Liverpool early in the first half, only for Chelsea's recently signed forward Andriy Shevchenko to equalise shortly before half-time. Both sides had chances to win the match in the second half, but a Peter Crouch goal late in the half ensured Liverpool won the match 2–1, to win the Community Shield for the 15th time.

Repeated Champions League ties (2007–09)

The two teams were again drawn against each other in the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Champions League, squaring off in the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League knockout stage#Chelsea v Liverpool, semi-finals of the competition. Chelsea would win the first leg at Stamford Bridge 1–0 courtesy of a goal from Joe Cole, but Liverpool won the second leg 1–0 as well at Anfield, with Daniel Agger ensuring the tie finished 1–1 on Playoff format#Total points series (aggregate), aggregate. The team that would progress was decided in a penalty shootout. Liverpool would win the penalty shootout 4–1, sending them to their 2007 UEFA Champions League final, second Champions League final in three years, which would be a rematch of the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, 2005 edition, which saw AC Milan get their revenge on Liverpool and defeat them 2–1.

The following season saw José Mourinho depart from Chelsea in September 2007, but they would still defeat Liverpool 2–0 in the quarter-finals of the 2007–08 Football League Cup, League Cup, with goals from Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko sending the Reds crashing out of the competition. Chelsea and Liverpool were drawn against each other yet again in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League knockout stage#Liverpool v Chelsea, semi-finals of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, Champions League. In the first leg at Anfield, a Dirk Kuyt goal two minutes before half-time put Liverpool ahead, and held onto the lead until the 95th minute, which saw John Arne Riise Own goal#Association football, put the ball in his own net to give Chelsea, who were now being managed by Avram Grant, an advantage, with the match finishing 1–1 and the Blues heading into the second leg at Stamford Bridge with a crucial away goal. Chelsea would defeat Liverpool 3–2, with a Brace (association football), brace from Didier Drogba and an emotional penalty from Frank Lampard seeing Chelsea finally get the better of Liverpool in the Champions League, and sending them to their 2008 UEFA Champions League final, first ever Champions League final, which they would go on to lose 6–5 on penalties to Manchester United F.C., Manchester United.

Liverpool end Chelsea's home unbeaten run

On 26 October 2008, Chelsea hosted Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the ninth game of the 2008–09 Premier League, new Premier League campaign. At this point, Chelsea were top of the Premier League, and Liverpool were second, with both teams having 20 points and Chelsea having +9 superior goal difference. Chelsea were also unbeaten in their last 86 games at home, last losing 1–2 against Arsenal F.C., Arsenal dating back to February 2004, and were looking to extend their lead at the top of the table and their home unbeaten run to 87 games. In surprising fashion, however, Liverpool managed to defeat Chelsea 1–0, with a 10th-minute strike from Xabi Alonso that deflected off Chelsea defender José Bosingwa sending the Reds to the top of the Premier League and ending the Blues' record-setting 86-game home unbeaten run, their first home league defeat for over four and half years, which is still the record for the most home games unbeaten in the Premier League. In the reverse fixture at Anfield in February 2009, Liverpool defeated Chelsea again, this time winning 2–0, with both goals coming from Fernando Torres late in the game. This was the first season in Premier League history that Liverpool had completed a Premier League double over Chelsea. They would also finish second, above Chelsea who finished third, making it the first Premier League season since 2001–02 FA Premier League, 2001–02 where Liverpool would finish above Chelsea in the Premier League table.

In the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League knockout stage#Liverpool v Chelsea, quarter finals of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, Champions League, Liverpool and Chelsea were drawn against each other again, marking the fifth consecutive season in which they played together in the Champions League, the most in Champions League history. In the first leg at Anfield, Chelsea emphatically won 3–1, with two goals from defender Branislav Ivanović and a goal from Didier Drogba giving Chelsea an advantage in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, which saw both teams play out a thrilling 4–4 draw, with Chelsea winning 7–5 on aggregate and progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League. From 2004 to 2009, Chelsea and Liverpool met a staggering 24 times.

Fernando Torres signs for Chelsea (2010–12)

After Rafael Benítez departed from Liverpool in June 2010, the club struggled greatly under new manager Roy Hodgson, which saw them nine out of their first twenty matches in the 2010–11 Premier League, Premier League and sitting 12th in the table, and one of the players who struggled was elite Spanish striker Fernando Torres. Despite Torres having a successful three and a half seasons at Liverpool, which saw him score 81 goals in nearly 150 appearances, he failed to win a single trophy at the club. Chelsea had previously expressed interest in signing Torres in 2008, but Torres responded by saying it would be "many years" before he left Liverpool. On 27 January 2011, Liverpool rejected a £40,000,000 bid from Chelsea for Torres, which was followed by Torres handing in a transfer request the next day, which was also rejected. Chelsea finally completed the signing of Torres on 31 January 2011, for £50,000,000, a then British transfer record and making Torres the List of most expensive association football transfers, sixth most expensive player in football history at the time, with the signing enraging Liverpool fans and boiling the blood in the rivalry even further.

Ironically, Torres made his Chelsea debut against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on 6 February, where was he was greeted with flags and signs held up by Liverpool fans labelling him as a "traitor". Liverpool would go on to beat Chelsea 1–0, with a 69th-minute goal from Raul Meireles putting Fernando Torres' Chelsea debut in vain.

The 2011–12 Premier League, next season's edition of the Premier League saw both Chelsea and Liverpool underperform, with both teams finishing outside of the top four, which in normal circumstances would have saw them both absent from Europe entirely next season, with Chelsea, who finished sixth, qualifying for 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, the Champions League as the 2012 UEFA Champions League final, Champions League winners, which also put their Chelsea F.C.–Tottenham Hotspur F.C. rivalry, fierce London rivals Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, who finished fourth, in the nightmare scenario of finishing in the top four and still not qualifying for the Champions League, who had to settle for 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Europa League football instead. Meanwhile, Liverpool, who finished 8th, qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League#Third qualifying round, third qualifying round of the Europa League as the runners-up of the 2011–12 FA Cup, FA Cup. However, Liverpool still managed to do a Premier League double over Chelsea, defeating them both home and away, which included a 4–1 humiliation at Anfield in May 2012.

2012 FA Cup final

On 5 May 2012, Chelsea and Liverpool faced off in the 2012 FA Cup final, final of the 2011–12 FA Cup, FA Cup for the very first time, at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea were looking to win their first trophy of the 2011–12 Chelsea F.C. season, season, being managed by interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, who was prosperous about being appointed as Chelsea manager on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, Liverpool, who were being managed by club legend Kenny Dalglish, had already won the 2011–12 Football League Cup, League Cup by beating Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City on penalties in the 2012 Football League Cup final, final, also defeating Chelsea 2–0 in the fifth round en route to the final, and were aiming for a double. For Chelsea, this was their 11th appearance in a FA Cup final, having won on six occasions (1970 FA Cup final, 1970, 1997 FA Cup final, 1997, 2000 FA Cup final, 2000, 2007 FA Cup final, 2007, 2009 FA Cup final, 2009, 2010 FA Cup final, 2010) and lost on four occasions (1915 FA Cup final, 1915, 1967 FA Cup final, 1967, 1994 FA Cup final, 1994, 2002 FA Cup final, 2002). As for Liverpool, this was their 14th FA Cup final, winning the trophy seven times (1965 FA Cup final, 1965, 1974 FA Cup final, 1974, 1986 FA Cup final, 1986, 1989 FA Cup final, 1989, 1992 FA Cup final, 1992, 2001 FA Cup final, 2001, 2006 FA Cup final, 2006) and being beaten six times (1914 FA Cup final, 1914, 1950 FA Cup final, 1950, 1971 FA Cup final, 1971, 1977 FA Cup final, 1977, 1988 FA Cup final, 1988, 1996 FA Cup final, 1996). On their way to the final, Chelsea defeated Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth, West London derbies, West London rivals Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City F.C., Birmingham City, Leicester City F.C., Leicester City, and Chelsea F.C.–Tottenham Hotspur F.C. rivalry, London rivals Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, whereas Liverpool defeated Oldham Athletic A.F.C., Oldham Athletic, Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry, rivals Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion, Stoke City F.C., Stoke City, and Merseyside derby, Merseyside rivals Everton to earn their place in the final.

In the match, Ramires put Chelsea in front in the 11th minute after he dispossessed Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing and beat Pepe Reina in the Liverpool area. Chelsea extended their lead in the 52nd minute when striker Didier Drogba scored. Liverpool substitute Andy Carroll scored in the 64th minute to reduce the deficit to one goal. Carroll thought he had scored a second in the 81st minute, but his header was saved on the line by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech. Carroll ran off celebrating, thinking he had equalised and the ball had crossed the line, but referee Phil Dowd did not award a goal (unlike the Luis García (footballer, born 1978), Luis García "ghost goal" seven years prior), and Chelsea held on to win the match 2–1 and the FA Cup for the seventh time.

Title rivals (2013–15)

Luis Suárez biting incident

On 21 April 2013, during Liverpool's 2–2 draw with Chelsea in a Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool striker Luis Suárez bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanović. This was not the first time that something like this had happened; it was the second time that Suárez had bitten an opponent. It was not noticed by the officials, and Suárez scored an equalizer in injury time. The bite prompted Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, UK Prime Minister David Cameron to call on the FA to take a hard line with Suárez: the FA charged him with violent conduct and he was fined an undisclosed sum by his club. Contrary to claims from Suárez, Ivanović did not accept an apology. Suárez accepted the violent conduct charge but denied the FA's claim the standard punishment of three matches was clearly insufficient for his offence. A three-man independent panel appointed by the FA decided on a ten-game ban for Suárez, who did not appeal the ban; the panel criticized Suárez for not appreciating "the seriousness" of the incident when he argued against a long ban. The panel also wanted to send a "strong message that such deplorable behaviours do not have a place in football", while noting that "all players in the higher level of the game are seen as role models, have the duty to act professionally and responsibly, and set the highest example of good conduct to the rest of the game – especially to young players".

The 2013–14 Premier League season saw Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Manchester City battle it out in a four-way title race, which eventually boiled down to Chelsea, Liverpool, and City. Chelsea did the Premier League double over all three of their title opponents, but inconsistent form and losses against the low-block teams saw them fail to win the Premier League.

Steven Gerrard slip

On 27 April 2014, Liverpool, now managed by Brendan Rodgers, welcomed Chelsea, now managed by a returning José Mourinho, to Anfield. At this point, the high-flying Reds were top of the Premier League on 80 points with just three games to go, five points clear of second-placed Chelsea and six of third-placed Manchester City F.C., Manchester City (who had a game in hand). They had also scored nearly a century of Premier League goals, and were on course to win their first ever Premier League title, which would have happened if they were to win their last three games, which were Chelsea at home, Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace Selhurst Park, away, and Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United at home. Additionally, a win against Chelsea would have seen the Blues be unable to catch Liverpool, as they would have been eight points behind them with two games left had they have won.

The match saw Steven Gerrard infamously slip while receiving a pass in first half injury-time, which allowed Demba Ba to score for Chelsea and put them 1–0 up at Anfield. Liverpool ultimately were unable to equalise, as a goal from Willian (footballer, born 1988), Willian in the dying moments of the game saw Chelsea run out 2–0 winners, with Liverpool only now being two points clear of their rivals from London and three points of clear of Manchester City, who had a game in hand and had +8 superior goal difference. Liverpool followed this up by throwing away a 3–0 lead at Crystal Palace and only managing to come out with a 3–3 draw, all but confirming Manchester City's Premier League victory.

The 2014–15 Premier League, next season, Chelsea hosted Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on 10 May 2015, who at this point had been top of the Premier League for every single matchday. Liverpool provided a guard of honour for Chelsea before kick off. The match finished 1–1, with the goals coming from John Terry and Steven Gerrard. In the match, Gerrard, who had confirmed a few months prior that he would be departing from Liverpool at the end of the season, received a standing ovation from both the Liverpool and Chelsea fans as he was being substituted off. In a post-match interview, Gerrard had mixed feelings about being clapped off the pitch by Chelsea fans, stating:

Recent years (2016–present)

Since then, the rivalry has cooled down a little bit, though fans of both clubs still hold a dislike for each other. Liverpool, then under Jürgen Klopp, would beat Chelsea in four successive major finals during this period: the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, the 2022 EFL Cup final and the 2022 FA Cup final (all on penalties), as well as finally winning their first 2019–20 Premier League, Premier League title in the 2019–20 Liverpool F.C. season, 2019–20 season. The two clubs met again in the final of the 2024 EFL Cup final, 2024 EFL Cup, with Liverpool winning 1–0 in extra-time thanks to a header from Reds captain Virgil van Dijk. Chelsea also gave Liverpool a guard of honour when the latter won the 2019–20 Premier League, 2019–20 and 2024–25 Premier League, 2024–25 titles.

Players who have played for both teams

Below are the players who have played for both Chelsea and Liverpool.

Chelsea, then Liverpool

Liverpool, then Chelsea

Honours

Results and statistics

Premier League

Chelsea at home (Stamford Bridge)

Liverpool at home (Anfield)

Cup meetings

Statistics

Head-to-head record

Top appearance makers (all competitions)

Top scorers (all competitions)

Highest attendances

* Chelsea 2012 FA Cup final, 2–1 Liverpool: 89,102 (5 May 2012), Wembley Stadium (neutral)
* Chelsea 2024 EFL Cup final, 0–1 Liverpool: 88,868 (25 February 2024), Wembley Stadium (neutral)
* Chelsea 2022 EFL Cup final, 0–0 Liverpool: 85,512 (27 February 2022), Wembley Stadium (neutral)
* Chelsea 2022 FA Cup final, 0–0 Liverpool: 84,897 (14 May 2022), Wembley Stadium (neutral)
* Liverpool 2005 Football League Cup final, 2–3 Chelsea: 78,000 (27 February 2005), Millennium Stadium (neutral)
* Liverpool 2–0 Chelsea: 67,686 (27 March 1965), Villa Park (Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa home)
* Chelsea 1–2 Liverpool: 64,575 (22 April 2006), Old Trafford (Manchester United F.C., Manchester United home)
* Chelsea 4–0 Liverpool: 62,587 (16 April 1965), Stamford Bridge (Chelsea home)
* Liverpool 2–1 Chelsea: 60,277 (20 October 2024), Anfield (Liverpool home)
* Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea: 58,757 (27 December 1949), Anfield (Liverpool home)
* Liverpool 4–1 Chelsea: 57,524 (31 January 2024), Anfield (Liverpool home)
* Chelsea 2006 FA Community Shield, 1–2 Liverpool: 56,275 (13 August 2006), Millennium Stadium (neutral)

See also

*List of sports rivalries in the United Kingdom

Notes

References

Works cited

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External links

11v11

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelsea F.C-Liverpool F.C. rivalry
Chelsea F.C., Liverpool rivalry
Liverpool F.C.
Football derbies in England