"A waste of time" - Phil Thompson calls for rule change after grueling FA Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea
Is it about time we scrapped extra time in cup finals? For the second time this season, a domestic cup final went right to the wire between Liverpool and Chelsea. Like February’s Carabao Cup, Jurgen Klopp’s men bested their opponents on penalties after a grueling and draining 120 minutes at Wembley.
It was another emotional rollercoaster for both sets of fans, but it was Liverpool who once more came out on top.
But could it all have been resolved earlier? Like February, supporters’ emotions were put through the wringer as the players put their bodies through even more torment. Given the early rounds of the Carabao Cup go straight to penalties, would it not make sense to do the same for the entirety of the competition?
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Saturday’s final was Liverpool’s 60th fixture of a long, hard season. One that still promises so, so much inside the last two weeks. For their part, Chelsea had played even more after their efforts in Doha at the Club World Cup in December.
So given the exacting nature of both teams’ campaigns, it seemed harsh to demand another 30 minutes of top-level football.
"Listen, penalties are never nice but I just felt the first 20 minutes was some of the best football that we've played. We really ripped Chelsea apart at times,” Liverpool legend Phil Thompson told Sportskeeda.
"Obviously Thomas Tuchel changed something because I think they were attacking too much down the right side and Luis Diaz was getting in all the time. We never tested the goalkeeper or got that goal that we needed, but the way the game panned out, they started the second half just like we did.
"But it was two good teams. Two teams sort of having a go and I think with extra time, I think they need to have a look at it.
“Extra time is a waste of time. Both teams are out on their feet, they're shattered, it's the end of May and the weather is a lot warmer. I think at that particular point I think they might as well go straight to penalties. I think that'd make it a lot easier for everybody."
Liverpool and Chelsea played risk-free football in extra time to force penalties
It’s a fair point. All extra time tends to do in matches of such importance is see players retreat out of fear of a mistake. A costly one that means their team ends up with runners-up medals. That is not the inhibiting attitude desired on the biggest stages.
For every Steven Gerrard moment of 2006 - when the then Liverpool captain scored one of the greatest goals in the history of the competition deep into extra time - there are a dozen more moments of fatigue and injury, cramp and distress. Settling a final via spot-kicks immediately after a 90-minute draw would surely embolden the players to give it their all in the closing stages without fear of needing to reserve something in the tank for the extra half hour. That would be much more watchable for the neutral.
Chelsea and Liverpool for the fourth time this season are drawing after 90 minutes.
After such a punishing game from both a mental and physical perspective, another 30 minutes does little to inspire the players. It’s easier to tick the clock down and take your chances on spot-kicks.
In the 141 times the FA Cup final has been played, it’s gone to extra time 26 times without the need for penalties and only four since the turn of the 21st century. At a time when so much football is demanded and so many injuries are picked up as a result, would it not be more prudent to do away with the concept entirely?
Do we really need this additional time that increases the risk of injuries more than the chance of a winning goal? It’s perhaps something to mull over as the calendar of fixtures only gets set to increase.