2005 Football League Cup Final

The 2005 Football League Cup Final was played between Liverpool and Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday, 27 February 2005. Chelsea won the match 3–2 after extra time. The two managers; José Mourinho of Chelsea and Rafael Benitez of Liverpool were both in their debut seasons with their respective clubs. Both had also won a major European tournament the season before; Mourinho won the Champions League with FC Porto and Benitez the UEFA Cup with Valencia CF.

Liverpool opened the scoring with John Arne Riise scoring inside the first minute, a League Cup final record. Chelsea retained much of the possession in the second half and eventually equalised after 80 minutes when Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard headed a Paulo Ferreira free-kick into his own net. José Mourinho was ordered to the stands after Chelsea's equaliser for making a gesture to the Liverpool fans of a finger to the lips. Despite the incident, Chelsea continued their dominance into extra time and a goal each from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kežman gave them a 3–1 lead. A minute later Antonio Núñez of Liverpool scored a header – his only ever goal in his one-season spell at Liverpool – but the score remained at 3–2 to Chelsea.