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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Paul Brown

Winners and losers from FA Cup final as Liverpool's unlikely hero sinks Chelsea

Kostas Tsimikas was Liverpool 's unlikely hero in the shoot-out as the Reds beat Chelsea on penalties again.

Jurgen Klopp's side had already done it once this season to the Blues, in the Carabao Cup final. And they did it again in the FA Cup final when Tsimikas came on to score the winning penalty at Wembley after Alisson had saved from Mason Mount.

Just like the Carabao Cup Final, neither side could find a breakthrough in normal time or extra time despite a host of chances. Chelsea hit the woodwork. Liverpool hit it twice. And also lost key men Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk to injuries. But, just like they did in February, the two teams went to a shootout and the game was decided from the spot.

Here Mirror Football assess the winners and losers in the final...

Winners

Luis Diaz

Luis Diaz was Liverpool's brightest player before he was taken off (Getty Images)

Absolutely electric at times. Chelsea couldn't handle him. First he terrorised Trevoh Chalobah, then he started picking on Antonio Rudiger. How this guy has settled in so well since coming over from Portugal that he seems like he's been here for years is anybody's guess.

Diaz is quick. Direct. Elusive. Canny. And a major goal threat. He did everything but score, hitting the woodwork and going close several times. If Liverpool do have to wave goodbye to Salah or Sadio Mane sooner than they'd like, they won't have to look far to find someone capable of filling their shoes.

Diaz looks like he could go on to have a brilliant career at Anfield, and probably couldn't believe he hadn't won this game for his team in normal time. No wonder he looked gutted to come off in extra time

Marcos Alonso

Made to look world class at times, largely by taking advantage of the acres of space vacated by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Alonso has had his critics among Chelsea fans and his future never seems entirely secure, but this was one of his best performances for them.

Not just a menace on the overlap, he also hit the crossbar with an outrageous free kick, and showed plenty of leadership too, constantly issuing instructions to his team-mates. Alonso could even have scored if he hadn't taken a bad touch and allowed a great chance to get away from him.

If he sticks around next season, Ben Chilwell could have a fight on his hands getting back into the team.

Kostas Tsimikas

Kostas Tsimikas won the FA Cup for Liverpool (Getty Images)

He was hardly on the pitch, coming on for Andy Robertson with 111 minutes already played at Wembley. But he ended up hoisted on the shoulders of his team-mates after scoring the winning penalty deep into the shoot-out.

Alisson's save from Mason Mount set him up but Tsimikas, who has had to play second fiddle to brighter stars at Anfield all season, showed nerves of steel to clinch it. And he did it in front of the Chelsea fans too, to keep Liverpool's dreams of an epic Quadruple alive.

Losers

The Liverpool fans who jeered and whistled Abide With Me

Maybe they thought it was the National Anthem (which they also booed). The Bands of the Coldstream, Irish and Welsh Guards were on the pitch limbering up after all. And yes, we get it, Liverpool likes to be anti-establishment. But Abide With Me is a much-loved FA Cup tradition dating back to 1927.

In days gone by, both sets of fans would belt out every word as an important part of the build-up to the biggest date of the sporting calendar. I've seen Liverpool fans at past FA Cup Finals here singing along respectfully.

Why jeer and whistle? Abide With Me isn't just an FA Cup Final tradition either. It's been part of the Hillsborough Memorial Service for years. It was even released as a single by the Liverpool Lighthouse Choir to mark the 33rd Anniversary of the tragedy as a song of healing.

It's a hymn of solemn beauty often played at funerals. It will be played at mine. How must Liverpool fans like Warrant Officer Two Neal Grimwood, who was part of the band at Wembley today, have felt hearing it get that sort of reception?

And what about the members of the B Positive choir, some of whom have blood-related medical conditions, who were out there at Wembley to perform it? They deserved better.

Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku hardly saw the ball during the FA Cup final (Getty Images)

This was your big chance. Your strike rival Kai Havertz out with a hamstring injury. Your recent form good. The eyes of the world watching. What do you? Jog around looking totally uninterested for 85 minutes before being taken off having not managed a single shot on target.

Okay, Chelsea still don't play to Lukaku's strengths despite spending £97.5million to bring him back to Stamford Bridge. But put some effort in.

Lukaku touched the ball 15 times. And it's not like his team-mates weren't looking for him. Reece James in particular looked to play him an early ball whenever he could. It just isn't working for Lukaku, who's agent showed spectacularly bad timing by giving an interview this week asking for talks with the new owner. Those shouldn't take long.

Mohamed Salah

Poor Salah lasted just 33 minutes before going down and then being forced off with an injury. He was walking okay as he left the pitch but disappeared straight down the tunnel for treatment grimacing in pain.

You could tell from the concern shown by his team-mates for someone who rarely misses a game that all was not well. Liverpool have bigger games to come and bigger prizes to play for so it's no surprise their top scorer didn't play on if he wasn't 100 per cent.

But his fitness will now be a huge concern for Jurgen Klopp as the Reds head into crunch time in the title race, with a Champions League Final just around the corner.

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