Published: 7 May, 2012
by PAUL COWLING

Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1
At Wembley Stadium. Attendance 89, 102

ROBERTO di Matteo, kept the press room waiting at Wembley on Saturday evening; and why not?

The interim Chelsea coach was being bounced up in the air by ecstatic Blues players, with his suit getting the customary champagne wash.

The former Italian international, had just seen his charges win the first of what he hopes will be a trophy double this month, with a Champions League Final looming against German giants Bayern Munich, on May 19th.

But, he knows that task will be far more difficult for that game, given he has four key players suspended for the final.

How he wishes he had at least Brazilian midfielder Ramires to call on.

Ramires has pace to burn, and energy in abundance.

It was his crucial goal at the Nou Camp just before half time, that gave Chelsea the impetus to hold on with ten men against Barcelona, to set themselves up for the Munich showdown.

He is a match winner for all occasions, and vital for Chelsea's development.

On Saturday, the Brazilian proved it again, when on 11th minutes, he ran on to a precision pass from Juan Mata, and beat Daniel Agger for sheer pace.

Ramires thumped a low drive towards Pepe Reina, but the Liverpool keeper had got his his angles all wrong – and the ball was in the back of the net.

Liverpool's response was immediate – with Craig Bellamy low volley, blocked by Branisav Ivanovic – another of the banned Chelsea quartet for Munich.

But, for a full first hour of the match,  that was just about it, as far as a disappointing Liverpool were concerned. 

Chelsea dominated for that hour, with Liverpool's 4-2-3-1 formation simply not in the game.

It was Jay Spearing who had lost possession to eventual man of the match, Mata, for the opening goal, and he and Jordan Henderson were being constantly blown away by the dominance of Lampard and Jon Obi Mikel, in Chelsea's industrious midfield.

It was no surprise when Chelsea went 2-0 up.

Again, it was Spaniard, Mata, with another defence splitting pass, who set up Didier Drogba to drill a low shot pass Reina on 54 minutes.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish bemoaned his side's sloppiness after the match.

"You just can't give a side like Chelsea, a 2-0 lead"

"We were just too nervous and inexperienced"

During a match that was slipping away from him, Dalglish had sensed Liverpool needed fresh ideas, and brought on Andy Carroll.

The much maligned frontman got his side back into the game on 64 minutes, to make it 2-1, and suddenly from total Chelsea dominance, and the most one-sided of victories, it was all Liverpool, as they went in search of the goal that would take the game into extra time.

Finally Stewart Downing, did what he should have been doing from the start – getting to the by-line, and getting his crosses in.

The introduction of Dirk Kuyt too, gave the Liverpool attack much more clout – that equaliser was on the cards, and the Liverpool fans turned their racket up a further notch.

Carroll thought he had put the scores level on 82 minutes, but somehow Petr Cech pushed his header on the bar, before seeing the ball drop perilously close to crossing the line. 

The Liverpool striker wheeled away in delight, but as TV replies proved, the goal was rightly crossed off.

Still the Reds pressed forward.

How the last half hour of the game was edge of your seat stuff, and in stark contrast to the turgid first 60 minutes, when Liverpool just weren't in the match.

Carroll and Luis Suarez still had time to equalise, but they were both thwarted by crucial blocks by Ivanovic and John Terry.

And so it was that Chelsea held on. 

Drogba had now scored in four successive Wembley finals, and di Matteo had shown again, just why his Chelsea players are keen for him to take charge of the side on a permanent basis.

When he finally got to the after match press conference, di Matteo was coy about his chances of getting the job full-time.

"I'm very pleased with my position until the end of the season, and then the boss (Roman Abramovich) will make his decision which is best for the club, and we'll all respect it".

"I'll speak to him, don't worry".

"I do speak to him."

Di Matteo changed the subject, paying ackowledgment to Andres Villas Boas, who he had replaced as interim coach.

"It is AVB who should get some credit for this victory, as well because he started our run in the FA Cup,"

Chelsea are finding that Wembley is a home-from-home for them now.

Saturday's final win, was their fourth FA Cup success in the last 5 years, and now di Matteo can complete a remarkable turnaround for the club's fortunes, by making it a glorious double – and what an audition for the full time managerial role that will be!

An FA Cup triumph; a Champions League victory – how can the man at the very top, say no to that?

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Obi Mikel, Lampard, Ramires; Mata, Drogba, Kalou

Liverpool: Reina; Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique; Spearing, Gerrard, Henderson; Bellamy, Suarez, Downing