Ranked! The 10 best League Cup finals ever
What are the best League Cup finals ever?Everyone loves a giant kill. Except fans of the giant, of course.Super-ric…
What are the best League Cup finals ever?
Everyone loves a giant kill. Except fans of the giant, of course.
Super-rich Newcastle may not fit the classic idea of an underdog, despite their nearly 70 years without a trophy. However, what this year’s finale could easily give us is drama — something this competition hasn’t exactly lacked for over the years.
From overhead winners to 330-minute battles, managers silencing fans to penalty heroics, this selection of cup finals should whet your appetite for Sunday…
10. Luton 3–2 Arsenal, 1988
Luton Town celebrate winning the 1982 League Cup Final (Image credit: Getty Images)
Despite playing in the same division as their opponents at the time, Luton were regarded as huge underdogs as they took on defending League Cup champions George Graham at Wembley.
Brian Stein’s goal gave Town a shock lead, but two hits in three minutes after the break from Martin Hayes and Alan Smith gave the Gunners the lead. When they won an 80th minute penalty, the game looked dead as a match.
Instead Nigel Winterburn’s effort was saved from 12 yards out and the Hatters roared back as Danny Wilson leveled with a header, before Stein secured Luton’s only major honor with a last-minute winner.
9.Tottenham 2–1 Chelsea, 2008
Tottenham’s Robbie Keane slips on Wembley turd after 2008 win over Chelsea (Image credit: Getty Images)
The first League Cup final played at the new Wembley ended in a shock result as Juande Ramos’ stuttering Spurs beat Chelsea.
A Didier Drogba free-kick put the Blues ahead, but Tottenham came back via a Dimitar Berbatov penalty, sending the game into extra time. There, a sloppy goal from Jonathan Woodgate made the difference — with some help from Petr Cech — and although Ramos only lasted eight months as Spurs boss, he did leave a mark on the club’s history by taking them to just their second trophy lead in 17 years. .
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8. Aston Villa 3–2 Everton, 1977 (second replay)
Aston Villa players unfurl a festive banner after finally winning the 1977 League Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)
Third time lucky. Villa and Everton had played out two tedious draws in their first few attempts to decide the League Cup, but rewarded fans at Old Trafford for their patience in the second replay.
Bob Latchford put the Toffees in front before an incredible 40-yard strike from Chris Nicholl evened things out. Brian Little then pushed Villa forward, but Mick Lyons reacted quickly to equalize with the third goal of a frenzied four-minute period.
The teams were finally separated after a 330th minute deadlock, when Little scored it with his second goal of the game one minute before the end of extra time.
7. Liverpool 1–1 Birmingham (5–4 on pins), 2001
Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher scores in the 2001 League Cup Final (Image credit: Getty Images)
In the first major football final played at the Millennium Stadium, Liverpool squeezed past Birmingham to win their first silverware in six years.
The second tier side put up a brave fight and responded to Robbie Fowler’s opening goal with an injury time equalizer from the penalty spot by Darren Purse. But such was the measure of their luck from 12 yards out: a young Andy Johnson had his decisive penalty saved by Sander Westerveld in the first major English final to be decided by a shootout.
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6. Nottingham Forest 3–2 Southampton, 1979
Nottingham Forest striker Garry Birtles, 9, has scored his second goal as Archie Gemmill celebrates (Image credit: Getty Images)
It’s fair to say Nottingham Forest were in a good spot in their last game against Southampton. They were defending champions, league champions and led 4–1 at the halfway mark of their two-legged European Cup quarter-final — a match they would win.
However, the night before this match, Brian Clough encouraged his players to wave off a case of champagne after a slightly drunken success against Liverpool earlier in the season, but it showed as they trudged 1–0 at half-time to David Peach’s goal .
They soon took control as Garry Birtles struck twice and Tony Woodcock added another, making Nick Holmes’ late goal for Saints little more than a consolation.
5. Chelsea 3–2 Liverpool, 2005
Chelsea captain John Terry looks on after Liverpool’s goal in the 2005 League Cup Final (Image credit: Getty Images)
The day Jose Mourinho lifted his first trophy as Chelsea manager didn’t start out the way the Portuguese would have liked.
John Arne Riise put Liverpool ahead within a minute and as the Blues piled forward in search of an equaliser, it was Head hero Steven Gerrard’s own goal that got them back in with 10 minutes left.
Mourinho ran down the touchline to offer a ‘shush’ gesture to Reds fans and was sent off as a result, but still celebrated as Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman struck in extra time. Antonio Nunez — do you remember him? — got a consolation for Liverpool.
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4. Birmingham 2–1 Arsenal, 2011
Birmingham’s Obafemi Martins celebrates scoring the winner against Arsenal in the 2011 League Cup Final (Image credit: Getty Images)
Everything seemed set for Arsenal to take their first trophy in six years as they took on relegation battlers Birmingham in what promised to be a fairly routine day at the office.
Nikola Zigic went against the grain by putting the Blues ahead, but Robin van Persie pulled the Gunners level. However, a superb performance from Ben Foster in the Birmingham goal prevented Arsenal from taking the lead before disaster struck.
A seemingly harmless long ball found itself in the path of Obafemi Martins after a mistake by Laurent Koscielny — and the Nigerian made no mistake. Birmingham were relegated just three months later, but their first trophy since 1963 was a major sweetener.
3. Swindon 3–1 Arsenal, 1969
Rod Thomas of Swindon tackles Bobby Gould of Arsenal in the 1969 League Cup Final (Image credit: Getty Images)
In a match that marked young Nick Hornby for life, Swindon stunned Arsenal with another shock result just two years after third-rate QPR humiliated top-flight West Brom.
Roger Smart jumped on a loose backpass to put the minnows in front, and they defended their lead until Bobby Gould found an equalizer with four minutes remaining.
It was hero time and Don Rogers stood up for Swindon, scoring twice to complete an afternoon beyond their fans’ wildest dreams. Arsenal blamed the flu and a heavy pitch, but no one listened.
2. Manchester City 2–1 Newcastle, 1976
Manchester City’s Dennis Tueart scores City’s winning goal in the 1976 League Cup Final with a spectacular bicycle kick (Image credit: Getty Images)
Two teams desperate to end the trophy droughts came head to head in a match that will be forever remembered by Dennis Tueart’s overhead kick winner.
Peter Barnes put City ahead in the first half, before Alan Gowling leveled the score. And so it was up to Tueart, a childhood Newcastle fan, to pull a rabbit out of the hat with a memorable blow.
Tony Book became the first person to win the trophy as both a player and manager, with the win remaining City’s last until 2011.
1. QPR 3–2 West Brom, 1967
Queens Park Rangers players celebrate the League Cup with their captain Mike Keen (Image credit: Getty Images)
The League Cup’s first Wembley final was one to remember, after the two-legged format was scrapped.
West Brom raced to a two-goal lead at half-time courtesy of Clive Clark’s double, but Roger Morgan narrowed the deficit. Things got even better for QPR when Rodney Marsh and the aptly named Mike Lazarus managed to pull off a remarkable fight and give headline writers an easy day.
QPR became the first third tier side to win a major trophy as the League Cup basked in its underdog drama.
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