Five of the best
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1
May 11th, 2003, Premier League at Stamford Bridge
Liverpool arrived for what was billed, because it would decide who qualified for the Champions league, as potentially one of the most lucrative games of all time.
Sami Hyypia gave Liverpool the lead, but Chelsea bounced back quickly with goals from Marcel Desailly and Jesper Gronkjaer. Gerard Houllier's side then fell well short of what was required to recover and had to settle for the Uefa Cup. Claudio Ranieri went on to lead his side to the semi-finals of the following year's Champions League.
Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2 (aet)
February 27th, 2005, League Cup final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
John Arne Riise gave his side the lead after just 45 seconds, but a late Steven Gerard own goal saved Chelsea who had been confounded by a couple of fine Jerzy Dudek saves - the best of them at the feet of Damien Duff - and poor finishing.
In injury-time, though, Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman scored from close range to ensure Jose Mourinho would finish his first season in charge with a trophy.
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0
May 3rd, 2005, Champions League at Anfield
Having played out a goalless draw in the first leg, Liverpool took the lead in the third minute after Steven Gerrard found Milan Baros in the box. The Czech slipped the ball past Petr Cech before being flattened by the goalkeeper and Luis Garcia attempted to force the loose ball home as William Gallas desperately tried to keep it out.
Though TV footage proved inconclusive, Jose Mourinho insisted it had not been a goal and conveniently chose to ignore the fact Cech would have had to have been sent off had it not been awarded. Perhaps, more difficult for the Portuguese to admit was the fact Liverpool contained his men so easily over the rest of the contest and clearly deserved to progress. Liverpool went on to win a dramatic final against Milan.
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 4
October 2nd, 2005, Premier League at Anfield
The Londoners returned to Merseyside just a few days after a sterile Champions League group game in which the home side had been frustrated by Chelsea's negative approach. Rafa Benitez tempted fate by suggesting he now knew how to deal with Mourinho's side and predicted victory. Liverpool promptly suffered one of their worst defeats on home soil.
Didier Drogba was outstanding, dominating the entire occasion with a mixture of awesome physical power and wonderful ingenuity. Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Damien Duff and Geremi got the goals, with the win sending them nine points clear at the top of the table.
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0
May 1st, 2007, Champions League at Anfield
This time Chelsea arrived with a lead to defend courtesy of Joe Cole's first-half strike at Stamford Bridge. Twenty-two minutes in, though, Daniel Agger levelled things up, and despite having a fair bit of possession Chelsea never looked like recovering the initiative. Ultimately, the atmosphere seemed to get to Chelsea who survived extra-time only to lose a penalty shoot-out. Dirk Kuyt converted the wining spot-kick after Arjen Robben and Geremi had their efforts saved by Pepe Reina. Liverpool lost the final to Milan this time and the game turned out to have been Mourinho's last chance to lead Chelsea to European glory.
