2012 Football League Cup final

2012 Football League Cup final

Match programme cover
Event	2011–12 Football League Cup
Cardiff City Liverpool 2 2
After extra time Liverpool won 3–2 on penalties
Date	26 February 2012 (2012-02-26)
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match	Stewart Downing[1]
Referee	Mark Clattenburg (County Durham)[2]
Attendance	89,041[3]
Weather	Partly cloudy 10 °C (50 °F)
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The 2012 Football League Cup final was a football match between Cardiff City and Liverpool on 26 February 2012 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 2011–12 Football League Cup, the 52nd season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and the Football League. Cardiff were appearing in their first final, while Liverpool were appearing in the final for the eleventh time; they had previously won seven and lost three finals.

As Cardiff were in the Football League, they played one more round than Liverpool who received a bye in the first round. Therefore, Cardiff progressed through six rounds to reach the final, whereas Liverpool progressed through five. Matches up to the semi-final were contested on a one-off basis with the exception of the semi-finals, which were contested over two-legs with a match at each team's home ground. Both Liverpool and Cardiff's matches were close affairs; their biggest margins of victory was by two goals. Liverpool beat Manchester City to reach the final, whereas Cardiff progressed via a penalty shoot-out against Crystal Palace.

Watched by a crowd of 89,041, Cardiff took the lead in the first half when Joe Mason scored. The score remained the same through half-time until Liverpool equalised in the 60th minute, when Martin Škrtel scored. With the score 1–1 at full-time, the match went to extra-time as neither side were able to score a second goal. The first half of extra-time was goalless, but three minutes into the second half Liverpool took the lead when Dirk Kuyt scored. However two minutes before the end of extra-time Cardiff equalised to make the score 2–2, courtesy of a goal from Ben Turner. With the score at 2–2 at the end of extra-time the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Despite missing their first two penalties, Liverpool won the shoot-out 3–2 to win the League Cup for a record eighth time.

Liverpool's manager Kenny Dalglish stated in the aftermath, that the victory would lead to more trophies. The club reached the 2012 FA Cup final, but were beaten 2–1 by Chelsea. Their league form faltered after the victory and they finished the season in 8th place. Despite this, victory in the final ensured Liverpool had qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Cardiff manager Malky Mackay was proud of his team despite their defeat. They finished the season in 6th place in the 2011–12 Football League Championship, reaching the playoffs where they were beaten by West Ham United over two-legs.