2001 FA Cup final

2001 FA Cup final

The match programme cover.
Event	2000–01 FA Cup
Arsenal Liverpool 1 2
Date	12 May 2001
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Man of the Match	Michael Owen (Liverpool)
Referee	Steve Dunn (Gloucestershire)
Attendance	72,500
Weather	Clear 24 °C (75 °F)[1]
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The 2001 FA Cup final was a football match between Arsenal and Liverpool on 12 May 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2000–01 FA Cup, the 120th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup, and the first in the competition's history to be staged outside England, due to the ongoing reconstruction of its usual venue, Wembley Stadium. Arsenal appeared in their fourteenth final to Liverpool's twelfth.

Given both teams were in the highest tier of English football, the Premier League, they entered the competition in the third round. Each needed to progress through five rounds to reach the final. Arsenal's progress was relatively comfortable; after scoring six past Queens Park Rangers, they knocked out holders Chelsea in the fifth round and later came from behind to beat local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final. Liverpool by contrast made hard work of overcoming lower-league opponents Tranmere Rovers and Wycombe Wanderers in the latter rounds of the competition. The final marked the first time that two managers born outside the British Isles had met in an FA Cup final – French compatriots Arsène Wenger and Gérard Houllier.

The match followed a familiar pattern of Arsenal dictating the pace and creating chances, but failing to breach the Liverpool defence. Arsenal had a penalty appeal turned down in the first half, when defender Stéphane Henchoz was judged not to have handled the ball to deny Thierry Henry a goalscoring opportunity. Henchoz's partner Sami Hyypiä made a series of goalline clearances during the second half, but was helpless to stop Arsenal taking the lead in the 72nd minute. Liverpool responded by making changes and equalised in the 83rd minute; Arsenal's failure to deal with a free-kick presented Michael Owen the chance to score. Owen then outpaced Lee Dixon and Tony Adams to score his second and the match winner, two minutes before the end of normal time. Liverpool's victory marked the second part of their unique treble of the 2000–01 season: they had won the League Cup in late February and added the UEFA Cup four days later.

As of 2021, this is the most recent time Arsenal have lost an FA Cup final, having won their next 7 appearances in a row. (2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020)