Chelsea

1-2

Liverpool

Drogba 69

 

Riise 20, Garcia 52

FA Cup Semi-Final
5.15pm, Saturday 22 April 2006
Old Trafford
Winning club receives £900,000



John Arne Riise says Liverpool deserve to be in The FA Cup Final after getting there the hard way.

Riise scored a superb free-kick in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea, having already knocked out Manchester United in the Fifth Round at Anfield.

Their run has also included a stunning 7-0 victory at Birmingham in the Quarter-Final, a 2-1 win at Portsmouth and an amazing comeback at Luton when the Reds won 5-3 after being 3-1 down.

Now Riise says they are ready for all-comers in the Final at Cardiff on 13 May. He said: "I think we deserve to be in the Final because we have got there the hard way, beating Manchester United and Chelsea.

"It’s the only Cup Final I haven’t been in with Liverpool and I decided before the start of the season it was the one I really wanted."

Riise’s opening goal was crucial in the match and put Liverpool 1-0 up after 21 minutes - setting the tone for the game. "It was a great feeling to score in such a big match," he said.

"We have been practicing that free-kick for two days and I immediately said I wanted to take it. At first I was going to curl it around the wall but then I noticed Ferreira was moving to one side and I decided to put it through the wall instead. It was a good decision!"

Luis Garcia put Liverpool 2-0 up with an equally spectacular effort before Didier Drogba headed Chelsea back in contention to set up a rip-roaring finale.

"It was a great game and a fantastic atmosphere," said Riise. "Now I’m really looking forward to the final."

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was just as delighted with the result, and the prospect of playing in The FA Cup Final. He said: "It's a great feeling. We've worked very hard for the result today against a class team, who are very strong.

"I thought we were the better team for sixty minutes. We were disappointed to concede a goal, which made it even more difficult. But credit where it's due - we deserved our victory today."

Steven was quick to compliment his teammates for their resolve to see out the last few moments of the game. He said: "The rallying cry went out from Carra at the back. We needed to all stick together.

"We'd been under pressure for 20 minutes and we knew it was going to be about three minutes because the physios had been on in the second half.

"But this job's not done yet. There's another massive game on the 13th of May. We need to perform to our best in a game like that and I'm sure we'll lift The Cup if we do."