Chelski 1, Liverpool 2

RAFA PRAISES PLAYERS AFTER GREAT WIN

Rafael Benitez last night hailed his players after they again beat Chelsea in the semi-final of a major competition.
Despite Jose Mourinho's post-match ramblings that the Reds "were very defensive", "were helped by the referee" and "have no chance of winning the Premiership next season", Benitez took great pride out of his team's performance as they booked their place in next month's final. "They like to play with the mistakes of the other team and normally punish them," said Rafa. "In this case, we made one, then they scored and we were under pressure. "At the end we worked really hard, created our chances and, with a little bit more luck, maybe we could have got another goal. "Chelsea are one of the most expensive teams in the world and they have a lot of good players. "They played well and we were trying to control them but it is really difficult to control Duff, Cole, Lampard and Drogba and all the players that they have. "I am really happy and delighted for the players, the club and the supporters. It was an amazing game for us. "The big clubs are always thinking about winning the big trophies and we are in the most famous Cup in the world. It is really important for us to win." Mourinho refused to shake Benitez's hand at the end of the game, but the Liverpool manager won't be losing any sleep over the incident. "I haven't seen him because I was saying thank you to our supporters. I have no problems," he added.

ANGRY MOURINHO DISAPPOINTED WITH DECISIONS

Beaten Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho felt his team were unfortunate to lose to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final and believed two key decisions by referee Graham Poll turned the game against his team.
Mourinho claimed the free-kick that led to John Arne Riise's opening goal should not have been given and also felt John Terry's disallowed goal should have stood. "When the referee gives such important decisions against your team in a semi-final it doesn't smell good and it wasn't a free-kick for Liverpool's first goal," said a disappointed Mourinho. "John Terry's goal should have stood and for the second goal we made a defensive mistake. We missed two good chances in the first half and at the end the same thing happened with Gudjohnsen's miss in last season's Champions League semi final. If you don't take them in these games it costs you." Mourinho also dismissed suggestions that he and Chelsea should be worried about the threat of Liverpool to their Premiership crown next season. "I can't wish Liverpool all the best for the final but I wish them good luck for the Champions League qualifier at the start of next season," added the Chelsea boss. "I am not worried at all about Liverpool and they have no chance of winning the Premiership title next season. We are 45 points ahead of Liverpool in the Premiership over the last two seasons and they have only beaten us twice in 10 games."

RIISE RELISHING FIRST CUP FINAL

John Arne Riise is relishing the opportunity to play in the first FA Cup final of his career next month.
Liverpool's Norwegian star - who opened the scoring against Chelsea in yesterday's semi-final - arrived at the club just after the Reds' last triumph in this competition back in 2001. West Ham or Middlesbrough now stand in Liverpool's way of ending the season with a major trophy in their cabinet and Riise is already thinking ahead to the club's big day out in Cardiff. "It's going to be a great occasion and I can't wait for it because I've never played in this Cup final," he said. "We had to come through a hard game to get there though because Chelsea were awesome in the last 25 minutes and we really had to defend well to keep the result. "The first half was played at such a high tempo that I was breathing heavily towards the end of it. I'm just so pleased we've come away with the right result. It was an awesome game between two class teams and we're now looking forward to the final."

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WEST HAM UNITED (a)

20:45 Wed 26th April

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