Chelsea F.C.–Liverpool F.C. Rivalry
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The Chelsea F.C.–Liverpool F.C. rivalry is an inter-city rivalry between English professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
clubs Chelsea and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. Chelsea play their home games at
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...
, while Liverpool play their home games at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
. 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 Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
, the League Cup, and the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
. The clubs have competed in seven major cup finals: the 2005 League Cup final, which Chelsea won 3–2 after
extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
, the 2006 Community Shield, which Liverpool won 2–1, the
2012 FA Cup final The 2012 FA Cup final was a football match between Chelsea and Liverpool on 5 May 2012. It was the final match of the 2011–12 FA Cup, the 131st season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. Chelsea were participati ...
, which Chelsea won 2–1, the
2019 UEFA Super Cup The 2019 UEFA Super Cup was the 44th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Leag ...
, which Liverpool won 5–4 on penalties, the 2022
EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
and
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
finals, both of which saw Liverpool win on penalties after two goalless affairs, and the
2024 EFL Cup final The 2024 EFL Cup final was the final match of the 2023–24 EFL Cup. It was played between Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, in a repeat of the 2022 EFL Cup final, 2022 final, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 25 Februa ...
, 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 Henry Augustus Mears (1873 – 4 February 1912)Brian Belton, ''Birth of the Blues'', Pennant Books, 2008, . was an English businessman, most notable for founding Chelsea Football Club. He was born in 1873, the son of Joseph and Charlott ...
acquired the
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...
athletics stadium in
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearby
Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of English football league system, English football. They have played home games at Craven ...
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 Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...
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 Fulham Road is a street in London, England, which comprises the A304 and part of the A308. Overview Fulham Road ( the A219) runs from Putney Bridge as "Fulham High Street" and then eastward to Fulham Broadway, in the London Borough of Hamm ...
, 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 Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
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 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
and
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
, and remained in the First Division throughout the 1930s, but success eluded the club in the inter-war years.


Liverpool

Liverpool Football Club Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...
was founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and
John Houlding John Houlding ( – 17 March 1902) was an English businessman and local politician, most notable for being, the founder of Liverpool Football Club and later Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Formerly he was Everton FC Club President and member. In Nov ...
, club president and owner of the land at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...
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 The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
refused to recognise the club as Everton. Liverpool played their first match on 1 September 1892, a pre-season
friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
against 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 The Scotch Professors were Scottish football players of the late 19th century who moved south to play for clubs participating in the English Football League during the period when football had become professional in England but remained (theoreti ...
.
Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
John McKenna John McKenna (; 3 January 1855 – 22 March 1936) was an Irish businessman, professional rugby player, and the first manager of the Liverpool Football Club which has since gone on to become the most successful football club in England. Ear ...
had recruited the players after a
scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
trip to Scotland—so they became known as the "team of Macs". The team won the Lancashire League in its debut season and joined the
Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...
at the start of the 1893–94 season. After the club was promoted to the
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
in 1896, 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 Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
in the
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
, 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 major rivals
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
, 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
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
season, where fourth-placed Chelsea were to play fifth-placed Liverpool at
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...
in a clash for
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
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 Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
in 1st,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in 2nd and
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
in 3rd had already accumulated enough points to qualify for next season's Champions League, and sixth-placed
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
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 Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (; born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish professional football manager and a former player who played as a centre-back. Hyypiä began his playing career with Ykkönen side Kumu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He s ...
in the 11th minute put the Reds 1–0 up, but Chelsea equalised just two minutes later through
Marcel Desailly Marcel David Desailly (; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional Association football, footballer, who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. During a successful career at club level, lasting from 1986 to 2006, Desailly won se ...
. Fourteen minutes later, Chelsea found themselves ahead via a
Jesper Grønkjær Jesper Grønkjær (; born 12 August 1977) is a Danish former professional Association football, footballer, who most recently worked as a pundit for Scandinavian media network Viaplay. A pacey winger (association football), winger, Grønkjær p ...
strike.
Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,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
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
(now
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
) football instead. In July 2003, long-time chairman of Chelsea
Ken Bates Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is a former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United. Bates ...
sold the club to Russian billionaire
Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...
for £140,000,000. Chelsea spent £103,000,000 on transfers in the summer of 2003, which included the signings of
Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He was long touted as a child prodigy and as the hottest prospect in English football, wi ...
from
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
and
Hernán Crespo Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of UAE Pro League club Al Ain. A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning ...
from
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
. Unlike the previous years, Chelsea under Abramovich had now become serious title contenders, threatening the likes of
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, who combined had won ten of the first eleven
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
titles. The first meeting between Chelsea and Liverpool after the Abramovich takeover was on the first matchday of the new campaign, at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
. Chelsea won 2–1, courtesy of goals from
Juan Sebastián Verón Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. In 2004, Verón was included in the FIFA 100 list of the 125 ...
and
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...
. Liverpool would get revenge in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in January 2004, which saw
Bruno Cheyrou Bruno Olivier Cheyrou (born 10 May 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Cheyrou was born in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine. After success with Lille OSC, where he scored against Manchester United i ...
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 undefeated Arsenal. Meanwhile, Liverpool finished in fourth place, nineteen points behind Chelsea, but still qualifying for the Champions League.


Mourinho vs. Benítez (2004–07)

In the summer of 2004, Chelsea and Liverpool had respectively appointed managers
José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
and
Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...
, 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 Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He was long touted as a child prodigy and as the hottest prospect in English football, wi ...
.


2005 League Cup final

On 27 February 2005, Liverpool faced Chelsea in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
of the
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
. This was Liverpool's tenth appearance in a
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
final, having won seven of them (
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
,
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
,
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
) and losing twice (
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
,
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
). For Chelsea, this was their fourth appearance in the final, winning the cup final in
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
and
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, and losing in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
. Liverpool had defeated
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
,
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
,
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
and
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
en route to the final, whereas Chelsea got past
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
,
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
, West London rivals
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
and
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
to get to the final. A crowd of 78,000 at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
saw
John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), coach. With 110 caps, Riise is the most capped player for the Norway national football te ...
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 Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
. Goals from
Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...
and
Mateja Kežman Mateja Kežman ( sr-Cyrl, Матеја Кежман, ; born 12 April 1979) is a Serbian sports agent and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Upon playing in his homeland, Kežman went on to play top-flight football in the N ...
put Chelsea 3–1 up. A goal from 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
semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
of the 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, which despite Chelsea's attempts to clear the ball off the line, the goal was given. It was dubbed as a "
ghost goal In association football, a ghost goal (or phantom goal) is either a goal wrongly awarded despite the ball not having crossed the Goal line (football), goal line, or a goal wrongly not given despite the ball having crossed the line. In an attempt t ...
" by José Mourinho, which popularised the term for other future incidents. This would seal Liverpool's place in the Champions League final, where they would take on
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
, 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 Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Premier League season, Chelsea were runaway winners, winning their first Premier League title (second overall), finishing twelve points clear of second-placed London rivals
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. 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 Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
in 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 the previous season), behind their 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 next season's edition, as they had finished outside of the top four of the Premier League. On 10 June 2005,
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
decided to grant Liverpool special dispensation to defend their title, however, they would have to enter the Champions League in the
first qualifying round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
, and were denied country protection, which meant they could face any English team (Chelsea, Arsenal,
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
, or Everton) at any stage of the competition. Liverpool would go on to defeat
The New Saints The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, commonly known as The New Saints () or TNS FC, are an English professional football club that play in the , but are based completely within England, in Oswestry, Shropshire. They a ...
,
FBK Kaunas Kauno futbolo ir beisbolo klubas, commonly known as FBK Kaunas, was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas. History Banga Kaunas (1960–1993) The roots of the club can be traced back to 1960 when Banga Kaunas was founded and they p ...
and
CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
in the Champions League first, second and third qualifying rounds, respectively, to advance to the
group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, where they were drawn in
Group G Group G may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...
, along with Chelsea,
Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...
, and
Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...
, 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
semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
encounter in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
, winning 2–1, ending Chelsea's hopes for their first ever
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
and progressing to the
FA Cup final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...
, where Steven Gerrard would score an equaliser in added time to help Liverpool defeat
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
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
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, 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 fierce rivals
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
, who were second, and 9 points behind Chelsea.


2006 Community Shield

As Chelsea and Liverpool were the respective winners of the 2005–06 Premier League and the
2005–06 FA Cup The 2005–06 FA Cup was the 125th staging of the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup. The competition began on 20 August 2005, with the lowest-ranked of the 674 entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. For the top 44 clubs, ...
, this meant that they would be playing each other in the
2006 FA Community Shield The 2006 FA Community Shield was the 84th staging of the FA Community Shield, an annual association football, football match played between the winners of the Premier League and FA Cup. The match was played between 2005–06 FA Cup winners Liverp ...
on 13 August 2006, at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
,
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, 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 defending champions, having beaten their London rivals
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
the previous year. The Blues were making their sixth appearance in the Community Shield, having also won in
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
and
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, and losing in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
and
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
. Liverpool, on the other hand, were appearing for the 21st time, emerging outright victorious eight times (
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
,
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
,
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
,
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
,
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
,
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
,
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
), sharing the shield six times (
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
,
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
,
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
,
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
,
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
,
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
) and losing it six times (
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
,
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
,
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
,
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
). In the match,
John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), coach. With 110 caps, Riise is the most capped player for the Norway national football te ...
opened the scoring for Liverpool early in the first half, only for Chelsea's recently signed forward
Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...
to equalise shortly before half-time. Both sides had chances to win the match in the second half, but a
Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He was Cap (sport), capped 42 times by the England national football t ...
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 Champions League, squaring off in the
semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
of the competition. Chelsea would win the first leg at Stamford Bridge 1–0 courtesy of a goal from
Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He was long touted as a child prodigy and as the hottest prospect in English football, wi ...
, but Liverpool won the second leg 1–0 as well at Anfield, with Daniel Agger ensuring the tie finished 1–1 on aggregate. The team that would progress was decided in a penalty shootout. Liverpool would win the penalty shootout 4–1, sending them to their second Champions League final in three years, which would be a rematch of the
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
edition, which saw
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
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 League Cup, with goals from
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...
and
Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...
sending the Reds crashing out of the competition. Chelsea and Liverpool were drawn against each other yet again in the
semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
of the Champions League. In the first leg at Anfield, a
Dirk Kuyt Dirk Kuijt (; born 22 July 1980), anglicised to Kuyt, is a Dutch former professional footballer and the current manager of Pro League club Beerschot. Originally starting out as a forward, he played much of his career as a right winger. Kuyt b ...
goal two minutes before half-time put Liverpool ahead, and held onto the lead until the 95th minute, which saw
John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), coach. With 110 caps, Riise is the most capped player for the Norway national football te ...
put the ball in his own net to give Chelsea, who were now being managed by
Avram Grant Avraham "Avram" Grant (; né Granat; born ) is an Israeli professional football manager who currently manages the Zambia national football team. He has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of nati ...
, 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 Brace (formerly known as ''Brace For War'') was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Brace was founded in 2005 by Kya Pate. In an interview with MMA Kanvas Kya Pate detailed what it is like to be the promoter of Australian MMA. Si ...
from
Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...
and an emotional penalty from
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...
seeing Chelsea finally get the better of Liverpool in the Champions League, and sending them to their first ever Champions League final, which they would go on to lose 6–5 on penalties to
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
.


Liverpool end Chelsea's home unbeaten run

On 26 October 2008, Chelsea hosted Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the ninth game of the 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 An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
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 Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...
that deflected off Chelsea defender
José Bosingwa José Bosingwa da Silva (born 24 August 1982) is a Portuguese former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back. An attacking fullback, his pace and ability to get up and down the flanks created problems for the op ...
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 Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...
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 where Liverpool would finish above Chelsea in the Premier League table. In the
quarter finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
of the 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 Branislav Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Ивановић, ; born 22 February 1984) is a Serbian former professional Association football, footballer. A versatile defender, Ivanović played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back ...
and a goal from
Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...
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 Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...
departed from Liverpool in June 2010, the club struggled greatly under new manager
Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...
, which saw them nine out of their first twenty matches in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and sitting 12th in the table, and one of the players who struggled was elite Spanish striker
Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...
. 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 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 Raul José Trindade Meireles (; born 17 March 1983) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. After starting out at Boavista, he signed with Porto in 2004, going on to appear in 198 official games and win ten m ...
putting Fernando Torres' Chelsea debut in vain. The next season's edition of the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
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 the Champions League as the Champions League winners, which also put their fierce London rivals
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
, 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
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
football instead. Meanwhile, Liverpool, who finished 8th, qualified for the
third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...
of the Europa League as the runners-up of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
. 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
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
for the very first time, at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
. Chelsea were looking to win their first trophy of the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
, being managed by interim manager
Roberto Di Matteo Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. A midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau early in his career. After winning the Swiss league title with Aarau i ...
, who was prosperous about being appointed as Chelsea manager on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, Liverpool, who were being managed by club legend
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...
, had already won the League Cup by beating
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
on penalties in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
, 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 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
,
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
,
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
,
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
,
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
) and lost on four occasions (
1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...
,
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
,
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
,
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
). As for Liverpool, this was their 14th FA Cup final, winning the trophy seven times (
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
,
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
,
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
,
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
,
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
) and being beaten six times (
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
,
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
,
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
,
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
,
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
,
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
). On their way to the final, Chelsea defeated
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, West London rivals
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
,
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
,
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, and London rivals
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
, whereas Liverpool defeated
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
,
rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
,
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...
,
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
, and Merseyside rivals Everton to earn their place in the final. In the match,
Ramires Ramires Santos do Nascimento (; born 24 March 1987), known as Ramires, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. A midfielder, he was comfortable playing in either the centre or right midfielder position. He normally played as a box-to ...
put Chelsea in front in the 11th minute after he dispossessed Liverpool midfielder
Jay Spearing Jay Francis Spearing (born 25 November 1988) is a former English professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. He is a coach at the Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy, Liver ...
and beat
Pepe Reina José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (; born 31 August 1982) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The son of famed Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Pepe Reina began his career with the Barce ...
in the Liverpool area. Chelsea extended their lead in the 52nd minute when striker
Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...
scored. Liverpool substitute
Andy Carroll Andrew Thomas Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championnat National 2 club Bordeaux. He has played in the Premier League and English Football League for Newcastle United, Preston No ...
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 Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and current ice hockey player who plays as a goaltender for Oxford City Stars. He has ...
. Carroll ran off celebrating, thinking he had equalised and the ball had crossed the line, but referee
Phil Dowd Philip Dowd (born 26 January 1963)
: The
did not award a goal (unlike the Luis García "
ghost goal In association football, a ghost goal (or phantom goal) is either a goal wrongly awarded despite the ball not having crossed the Goal line (football), goal line, or a goal wrongly not given despite the ball having crossed the line. In an attempt t ...
" seven years prior), and Chelsea held on to win the match 2–1 and the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
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 Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...
bit Chelsea defender
Branislav Ivanović Branislav Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Ивановић, ; born 22 February 1984) is a Serbian former professional Association football, footballer. A versatile defender, Ivanović played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back ...
. 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
UK Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
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 The 2013–14 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season of the Premier League, the top-flight English professional league for men's football clubs, and the 115th season of top-flight Engli ...
season saw Chelsea, Liverpool,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
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 Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed until h ...
, welcomed Chelsea, now managed by a returning
José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
, 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 Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
(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 The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
title, which would have happened if they were to win their last three games, which were Chelsea at home,
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...
, and
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
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 Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Demba Ba Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He serves as the chairman of National Independent Soccer Association side Albion San Diego. He made his first-team debut with French team Rouen in 2005 b ...
to score for Chelsea and put them 1–0 up at Anfield. Liverpool ultimately were unable to equalise, as a goal from 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 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 A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...
for Chelsea before kick off. The match finished 1–1, with the goals coming from
John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...
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 Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive and former Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Klopp has been ...
, would beat Chelsea in four successive major finals during this period: the
2019 UEFA Super Cup The 2019 UEFA Super Cup was the 44th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Leag ...
, the 2022 EFL Cup final and the 2022 FA Cup final (all on penalties), as well as finally winning their first Premier League title in the 2019–20 season. The two clubs met again in the final of the 2024 EFL Cup, with Liverpool winning 1–0 in extra-time thanks to a header from Reds captain
Virgil van Dijk Virgil van Dijk (; born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains both club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation and ...
. Chelsea also gave Liverpool a guard of honour when the latter won the 2019–20 and 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 2–1 Liverpool: 89,102 (5 May 2012),
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
(neutral) * Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool: 88,868 (25 February 2024),
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
(neutral) * Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool: 85,512 (27 February 2022),
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
(neutral) * Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool: 84,897 (14 May 2022),
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
(neutral) * Liverpool 2–3 Chelsea: 78,000 (27 February 2005),
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
(neutral) * Liverpool 2–0 Chelsea: 67,686 (27 March 1965),
Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...
(
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
home) * Chelsea 1–2 Liverpool: 64,575 (22 April 2006),
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
(
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
home) * Chelsea 4–0 Liverpool: 62,587 (16 April 1965),
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...
(Chelsea home) * Liverpool 2–1 Chelsea: 60,277 (20 October 2024),
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
(Liverpool home) * Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea: 58,757 (27 December 1949),
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
(Liverpool home) * Liverpool 4–1 Chelsea: 57,524 (31 January 2024),
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
(Liverpool home) * Chelsea 1–2 Liverpool: 56,275 (13 August 2006),
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
(neutral)


See also

*
List of sports rivalries in the United Kingdom A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


Notes


References


Works cited

* *


External links


11v11
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelsea F.C-Liverpool F.C. rivalry Liverpool rivalry Liverpool F.C. Football derbies in England