Saturday’s showpiece against Liverpool will be our 12th such occasion in the past 25 years. When you consider that in the previous 92 years of our existence we contested the FA Cup final just four times – in 1915, 1967, 1970 and 1994 – it is a remarkable achievement, and underlines our recent pedigree in the competition.

Only Arsenal and Manchester United have won the Cup more often now. A ninth win in our history, with victory over Liverpool, would move us ahead of Tottenham.

Five-year fix

A whole generation of Chelsea supporters had grown up having never seen their beloved team win a major trophy. The wait ended at 26 years. And then? Nothing but success, particularly in the FA Cup.

We have reached the final every five years since, winning in 2007 and 2012, and losing in 2002 and 2017. There have been bonus successes in 2000, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2018, along with the two recent defeats.

Indeed, since (and including) 1997, Chelsea have the most wins and the highest win percentage of any team in the FA Cup. Should we beat Liverpool on Saturday, we will have won exactly 75 per cent of our FA Cup games in the past 25 years.

We have also scored the most goals in the past 25 years of the competition, and by some distance.

Enjoy some of our best FA Cup goals below!

Coming full circle

It is fitting, perhaps, that this quarter-century of supreme FA Cup success is rounded off with a game against Liverpool. In January 1997, it looked like our efforts to win the competition would once again fall short, further prolonging our wait for a major trophy.

At half-time in a fourth round tie at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool led Ruud Gullit’s Blues 2-0. The introduction of Mark Hughes, a tactical reshuffle moving Roberto Di Matteo deeper, and a frenzied atmosphere in SW6 helped Chelsea roar back. Hughes quickly scored, set up Gianfranco Zola for a stunning equaliser and then watched as Gianluca Vialli poked us in front. Barely 15 minutes had elapsed since the interval.

Vialli added an extra layer of gloss with his second, and our fourth. One of the most remarkable turnarounds in Chelsea history was complete. In retrospect, it marked a sea-change in the Blues’ fortunes. Less than four months later, Dennis Wise had his hands on the Cup.

Reds rerun?

We will be hoping our next step on the five-year final cycle serves as a rerun of not only that epic comeback, but also the 2012 final, a decade ago now. It is the only previous time we have met the Reds in the final of this competition, and the last time they made it this far in the FA Cup.

Both teams endured underwhelming league campaigns in 2011/12. Chelsea finished in sixth, and Liverpool eighth, with the cups offering respite. Liverpool had already lifted the League Cup, while a fortnight after the FA Cup final the Blues would go on to enjoy our greatest day, in Munich.

With Wembley bathed in sunshine, Ramires burst clear to blast us in front as early as the 11th minute. Roberto Di Matteo’s team continued to dominate and deservedly went 2-0 up early in the second period through Didier Drogba, signing off at Wembley in the way only he knew. His old mate Frank Lampard provided the assist.

Kenny Daglish responded by introducing Andy Carroll off the bench, and it helped change the balance of the contest. Carroll quickly halved the deficit from close range and the same man thought he had equalised with 10 minutes left, only to be denied by one of the greatest saves Petr Cech ever made for us. He talks about that in his column today.

Following in famous footsteps

Our fourth FA Cup triumph in just six years would prove the last for that great Chelsea generation of Cech, Cole, Terry, Lampard, Drogba et al. David Luiz and Gary Cahill, both injured but back in time for Munich, were the only members of that squad still at the club six years later when we lifted our next – and most recent - FA Cup.

Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, N’Golo Kante and Toni Rudiger were in the team that day, and all will be hoping to follow so many of their Chelsea predecessors by winning the Cup for a second time, a feeling surely only heightened following the final disappointments of 2020 and 2021.