Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1: Drogba continues Wembley love affair as Blues lift FA Cup

Didier Drogba became the first man to score in four FA Cup finals as Chelsea overcame Liverpool at Wembley thanks to another massive goal-line controversy.

The Blues appeared to be cruising when Drogba scored at the start of the second half following Ramires' early opener, but the arrival of Andy Carroll turned the game on its head.

The burly Liverpool striker smashed home a superb goal not long after his arrival, then, with nine minutes left, rose to meet Luis Suarez's cross at the far post. Carroll was convinced he had scored, with Suarez equally certain the ball had crossed the line before Petr Cech clawed it back onto the crossbar.

Party time: Chelsea won the FA Cup at Wembley thanks to Didier Drogba's second-half goal

Garratt could not signal the goal, so referee Phil Dowd did not give it.Linesman Andrew Garratt was not so sure - and those who had the additional advantage of television replays were mostly of the same opinion.

And once another goalbound Carroll effort had been blocked in stoppage time, the Blues were able to complete their fourth FA Cup triumph in six seasons, and give Roberto Di Matteo his first piece of silverware as a manager in what could turn out to be a glorious double against Bayern Munich later this month.

There was no hint of the drama to follow when Ramires became the first Brazilian to score in this most prestigious of showpiece occasions.

When he first arrived on these shores two years ago, Ramires looked too slight to make an impact in England. Clearly though, he has guts, heart, drive and selfless determination.

If Roy Keane's endeavours for Manchester United in their Champions League semi-final triumph over Juventus in 1999 have gone down in history, then Ramires' performance in the Nou Camp 12 days ago deserves to go alongside it.

Goal? Andy Carroll thought his header was over the line but referee Phil Dowd disagreed

The yellow card he picked up means this will be the only cup final Ramires features in this season. And what a mark he made as Juan Mata slipped a pass beyond Jose Enrique.

The Liverpool full-back failed to recover his ground, allowing Ramires to bear down on the Reds goal.

Jose Reina elected to gamble rather than save the actual shot when it was unleashed. Reina chose incorrectly, diving to his right, allowing the ball to beat him rather embarrassingly at the near post.

In front: Ramires fires Chelsea ahead against Liverpool (above) and celebrates (below)

Having fallen behind in both the semi-final against Everton and to Cardiff in the Carling Cup final earlier in the season, Liverpool had no need to fret.

What would probably have concerned manager Kenny Dalglish rather more was the way his team were outgunned in midfield.

It was not until the half-hour, when Steven Gerrard started to get in advanced areas, that the Merseyside outfit began to exert any influence on the game.

Brace yourself: Didier Drogba doubled Chelsea's lead early in the second half at Wembley

By that time Drogba, Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou had all wasted half-chances.

Branislav Ivanovic, like Ramires banned from the Champions League final in Munich on May 19, had done well to block a snap-shot from Craig Bellamy early on.

That was Liverpool's only opportunity though, until Suarez rose on the edge of the six-yard box only to nod Jordan Henderson's knock-back wide.

Back in it: Andy Carroll scored shortly after coming on to give Liverpool a fighting chance

Unfortunately for Dalglish's team, their momentum was halted by the half-time break and before they could get into their stride again, Chelsea had doubled their advantage.

Out of contract in the summer and with Chelsea apparently unwilling to offer the two-year extension he has demanded, Drogba could be in the final throes of his Blues career.

If so, he will leave behind plenty of good memories.

Battle: Ramires is challenged by Jose Enrique (above) while Juan Mata of and Jay Spearing tussle (below)

When he found space on the left side of Liverpool's area and rattled a shot through Martin Skrtel's legs and into the far corner, he was scoring for the eighth time in as many Wembley appearances.

It prompted Dalglish into making his move, introducing his £35million portion of the £85million worth of striking talent that had been left on the bench, with Fernando Torres not starting for Chelsea.

And Carroll responded immediately, twisting John Terry around superbly inside the area before lashing his shot into the roof of Cech's goal.

Party time: Chelsea celebrate their FA Cup win over Liverpool at Wembley

The former Newcastle man then used his power to set up the much-maligned Henderson, who drilled a half-volley narrowly wide as those ageing Chelsea legs began to creak.

And Liverpool were convinced Carroll had levelled nine minutes from time when he rose at the far post to power Suarez's cross goalwards.

But the celebrations were cut short as the officials ruled Cech had clawed the ball out before it had crossed the line.

Main man: Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo celebrates after he led the side to glory

Even after half a dozen replays, there was no clear verdict either way, meaning the linesman, with one look, was in an impossible situation.

Carroll carved out one more chance, only for Terry to block, leaving Dalglish to reflect on the moment of controversy that denied him.

Arsenal 3 Norwich 3: Action-packed afternoon hits Gunners' Champions League hopes

‘It's out of our hands,’ lamented Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. ‘Defensively, the whole team were very, very poor.’
No one could argue. But they were not so ruthless in attack either, even though Yossi Benayoun netted after just 65 seconds. His shot curled, swerved and looped beyond John Ruddy, and the pressure should have been off from that very moment.
Instead of relaxing enough to play their best football, however, Arsenal put their feet up and thought they had already done enough against the Premier League new boys.

Wenger’s team showed Norwich such little respect that Bacary Sagna charged forward and did not bother to come back, his broken leg eventually deflecting attention from an irresponsible early display.How wrong they were, and Wenger was livid. ‘We were very poor in the first half, not switched on, the quality was absolutely not at the level we want in a decisive game like that. We have to analyse why we weren’t sharp enough in the first half.’
The other three defenders, none of them world-beaters, were not adequately protected by a docile midfield which badly missed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was inexplicably left on the bench until much of the damage had been inflicted.
So Kyle Naughton was allowed to race down the right and present Wes Hoolahan with the chance to shoot after 12 minutes. Wojciech Szczesny should have dealt with the predictable effort easily, but let it go through him instead.
Perfect start: Yossi Benayoun gave Arsenal the perfect start with a beautiful curled effort

Norwich counter-attacked at will, had seven efforts to Arsenal’s three before the break, and the home side were booed off at half-time.
Only one man was ever likely to come to Wenger’s rescue. He scores when he wants, or so they like to sing about Robin van Persie at The Emirates.
But even though the elegant Dutchman spared the blushes with a late double, the afternoon was more about the goals he did not score.
Happy birthday: Benayoun, probably playing in his last home match for the club, was celebrating his birthday
Harsh as it may seem, those may have far-reaching consequences for Arsenal’s Champions League hopes and for the career of the prolific striker. His twin successes were admirable enough.
A delightful pass from Alex Song presented the Dutchman with his first. Then Norwich, exhausted by a late Arsenal onslaught, crumbled again when substitute Anthony Pilkington gifted Van Persie what looked for all the world an 80thminute winner.
Dodgy keeper: Norwich got back on level terms thanks to Wesley Hoolahan... and Wojciech Szczesny
Yet Paul Lambert’s spirited team refused to throw in the towel. And five minutes from time, Jonathan Howson’s subtle pass gave substitute Steve Morison the chance to equalise.
Szczesny’s absurd decision to retreat instead of putting pressure on the striker sealed his fate, and Morison came up with a thumping half-volley into the far corner.
battling away: Arsenal were well short of the usual best, and had to fight for the right to play with Norwich
It could have been 3-1 in first-half stoppage time but for a perfectly-timed sliding challenge by Koscielny to block Holt's close-range effort.
There was more purpose about Arsenal in the second half, Van Persie rolling the ball across the face of goal following a sustained period of pressure.
Lucky strike: The Canaries took the lead when Grant Holt's strike looped in off Kieran Gibbs
Somehow Van Persie was robbed of what should have been a hat-trick when he was pushed in the back by Naughton, just as he was about to tap home from point-blank range.
Everyone knew it was a penalty, except referee Anthony Taylor. Wenger said: ‘We have to accept the decision of the referee but the whole team thought it was a penalty.’
Concerns: Bacary Sagna was taken off on a stretcher after appearing to turn his ankle without anybody near him
It was captain Van Persie who made the breakthrough though, as he volleyed home Alex Song's excellent angled ball through the penalty area.
Arsenal maintained their momentum as Norwich fought hard to disrupt it as much as possible, with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger exchanging a few heated words with Canaries counterpart Paul Lambert across the technical area.
Back in it: Robin van Persie came to the rescue with two goals in the final 18 minutes
Main man: The second of his goals was Van Persie's 30th of his best ever season
For some strange reason, the Gunners have not been awarded a penalty here for more than a year. ‘You look at other teams and they have been given nine, 10, 11 penalties at home this season,’ Wenger pointed out.
‘Gervinho was offside anyway,’ argued the feisty Lambert, though no flag had been raised. The Scot even insisted that his team — and not the hosts —- deserved to win. ‘I thought we were brilliant,’ he purred.
Farewell? Robin van Persie waves to the crowd
But Norwich would still have been buried had Van Persie taken any of the five chances he wasted. The worst came three minutes from time, after Tomas Rosicky’s exquisite pass.
He toe-poked another straight at the defiant Ruddy, who enhanced his growing reputation further. The chance before that went wide from close range, and Van Persie had failed to make contact with another in the first half. He had blasted his very first opportunity, a comfortable leftfooter, well over the bar.
‘It can bring its own pressure, trying to get into the Champions League,’ observed Lambert, almost sympathetically.
And now, as Wenger says, it is out of Arsenal’s hands, and they will have to hope Tottenham and Newcastle slip up.
‘We will see where we are on Sunday evening,’ he said sadly. So it was a rather hollow lap of honour that Arsenal performed at the end of proceedings yesterday.
And if they do not make it into that Champions League, that lap of honour might just have been Van Persie’s final bow
in north London.