Jurgen Klopp has discussed Liverpool’s FA Cup record ahead of a ‘tough’ final against Chelsea at Wembley.
Liverpool will face Chelsea in the FA Cup final this weekend looking to secure a domestic cup double, having beaten the West Londoners on penalties to win the League Cup in February.
It’s just the second time that the same teams have met in both domestic cup finals in the same campaign, after Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday in 1993.
Klopp is anticipating another difficult test against Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea after the teams’ most recent final encounter was decided on penalties.
“We didn’t ‘beat’ Chelsea. We won the penalty shootout,” Klopp told his pre-match press conference.
“I’ve said a few times, without luck you have no chance, and luck was on our side that day.
“It was a tough, tight game and we know how good Chelsea are and we expect another tough game.
“Both teams will go for all they have. That’s what I expect from Chelsea and that’s what I especially expect from us.”
Saturday’s showpiece will be Klopp’s first FA Cup final since being appointed as Liverpool manager in 2015 and the German says his squad are relishing the chance to add further silverware to their collection.
“We are really looking forward to this opportunity. The boys worked their socks off to arrive here, with all the different challenges over the year.
“It’s now a massive final for us and I’m really happy we are part of it. We always gave our all to arrive to the final [previously], we just didn’t make it.”
Liverpool had failed to progress beyond the fifth round in each of the past six seasons under Klopp, though the Reds boss insists their failure to reach the latter stages was due to squad depth and not a disregard for the competition.
“We’ve always given our all to arrive to the final we just didn’t make it for different reasons,” he said.
“What is clear when you start a journey, you can’t have it all.
“We didn’t have the squad to go for it all [all the trophies] we had to make changes, everybody makes changes during the FA Cup and Carabao Cup campaigns.
“The most important thing when you start new is to qualify for the Champions League because that gives you resources for making the next step.
“It was never that we didn’t want to go to the final, we just didn’t have the power to do it.
“I don’t think we were particularly lucky with our draws, we had really tough draws.
“We’re really desperate to win it.”
🗣 "We want to have the full prize."
Jurgen Klopp previews the FA Cup final against Chelsea this weekend pic.twitter.com/Mvu5H36uvM
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 13, 2022
Klopp said that Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City was one of Liverpool’s best performances, though said the final will be a different prospect.
“It’s a completely different game. Chelsea is a really well-coached team. They have a similar system to others but a different level.
“They have an idea for all areas of the game. They are very organised defensively and offensively incredible talent.
“We have no idea how Thomas [Tuchel] will line up. There are so many different options in offensive areas. Werner, Ziyech and Havertz, didn’t start the last game, could all three start for example gives a total different dynamic to Lukaku, Mount and Pulisic.
“[They] Can play with two strikers. Can play with one and two 10s. It’s very interesting to prepare [for].”
