Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE: FA Cup final result, final score and reaction as Liverpool win penalty shootout

Miguel Delaney spoke with Christian Pulisic, as the Chelsea forward looked ahead to playing in a FA Cup final in front of a full crowd for the first time, after ending up on the losing side in each of the last two seasons.

“‘Wembley is an incredible stadium and when it’s full it’s even better, so I think it’s going to be a great night. Playing in an FA Cup final without any limitations, I’ll enjoy that,’ Pulisic says. ‘For sure, the last two have been very tough to be on the wrong side. They were both very close. It’s a cup I definitely want to add to my collection.’

“Much of Pulisic’s experience will of course depend on whether he gets on the pitch. The American star has appeared in just over half of Chelsea’s matches this season, and often out of his best position. It has been a source of frustration, most of all to his father, who took to social media to complain about how his son is not used more.

“Pulisic himself is much more diplomatic. ‘Yeah, I think I of course want to be on the pitch, and recently with the limited times that I have had, I have been trying to make as big of an impact as I can. And prove that I should be out on the pitch. Sometimes that’s how it goes. I enjoy this club a lot, and I’m looking at everything and hoping that I can get more opportunities and yeah just really get out there on the pitch and help the team.’”

Richard Jolly also sat down with Ibrahima Konate, as the defender admitted he could not have dreamt of being part of the extraordinary and historic season Liverpool are enjoying.

Konate, who signed from RB Leipzig last summer, is set to mark his first year at Anfield with an appearance in this afternoon’s FA Cup final as Liverpool continue their quest for the quadruple.

Konate has already played at Wembley twice, converting his penalty in the Carabao Cup final shootout win over Chelsea and opening the scoring in the FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City.

Here’s the piece:

More from Tuchel: “You know Klopp is the master of being the underdog.

“He can talk you into being the underdog against Villareal and against Benfica, and it’s a miracle, miracle how they even draw against them.

“He can talk you into it and he does it all the time, he does it a lot of times. That’s part of it, that’s also like from where the sympathy comes.

“There’s nothing to be jealous of from my side. Klopp is a fantastic guy, funny guy, one of the very, very best coaches in the world and that’s what he does.

“When he trained Dortmund, the whole country loved Dortmund. So now he trains Liverpool and you have the feeling the whole country loves Liverpool.

“It’s big, big, big credit to him and this is what you deal with if you play a team against him, it’s always like this, but it’s always the fun part and so if we are the bad guys tomorrow, then no problem.

“If we take that role, no problem. We don’t want to have the sympathy of the country tomorrow – we want to have the trophy.”

Some nice pre-match chat from Thomas Tuchel, here, as the Chelsea manager branded Jurgen Klopp “the master of being the underdog” as he praised his compatriot for fostering a countrywide “sympathy” for Liverpool.

Responding to Pep Guardiola’s claim that “everyone in this country supports Liverpool”, Tuchel said: “There are huge sympathies for Liverpool, I feel that as well, in the whole country and I can understand it.

“Of course it is also because of Jurgen, but in general what this club stands for and how they run the business, and how the fans push their team.

“You have the feeling it’s purely about football and this is like a huge history in this club and there is a huge sympathy for it.

“If you fight against it, like Pep for many, many years, I can understand his comment that it feels sometimes like this.

“But at the same time, I don’t think it’s only here. It’s in Germany like this and in France too.

Richard Jolly was with Jurgen Klopp as the Liverpool manager looked ahead to the FA Cup final.

“The quest for the quadruple has taken its toll on Liverpool. Not, perhaps, on their players. ‘You could write books on the resilience of these boys,’ reflected Jurgen Klopp, talking about Tuesday’s comeback at Aston Villa. But fatigue caught up with him.

“‘I had two afternoon naps yesterday,’ he exclaimed. ‘Two. It worked well. I feel really good.’ Re-energised, reacquainted with his beaming grin and booming laugh, Klopp heads to Wembley, looking to the FA Cup to provide a second trophy of the season and perhaps a first of three in May.”

Let’s kick off with an FA Cup final scene-setter from Miguel Delaney:

“There is a classic FA Cup final decision to be made, as the competition celebrates its 150th anniversary. Those familiar with its lore might sense echoes of Manchester United’s Jim Leighton in 1990, or Leicester City’s top scorer Ken Leek in 1961.

“Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is currently weighing up whether to start his own expensive signing, Romelu Lukaku. Whatever decision the German makes will have bigger repercussions, not least for Lukaku’s career, but it could also follow 1961 and 1990 in dictating the game. That points to something else that stands out, on a day when the FA Cup will celebrate so much history. Like the best of previous finals, this one really is all about the game alone.”

Hello and welcome to live build-up to the FA Cup final as Liverpool face Chelsea in what promises to be another Wembley classic.

It has been less than three months since the sides last met in a cup final, as Liverpool prevailed on penalties to win the Carabao Cup and set in motion their quest for an unprecedented quadruple.

It remains a possibility for Jurgen Klopp’s side, even if Manchester City are closing in on the Premier League title, but Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel will be out for revenge as they aim to win the competition for the ninth time.

We’ve kicked off early - as it tradition on FA Cup final day - and we’ll bring you all the build-up and preview content you need before kick-off later this afternoon.