Chelsea and Liverpool’s seasons have been like night and day but their contrasting campaigns won’t matter one bit when they battle it out for the Carabao Cup in Sunday’s final.

The Blues haven’t had a simple route to the final after being on the brink of defeat in their quarter-final against Newcastle, before Mykhailo Mudryk netted a stoppage time equaliser to help Chelsea advance on penalties. And they were beaten by Middlesbrough in the semi-final first leg before thumping them in the second.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s route to the final has been slightly more straightforward, with wins against Leicester, Bournemouth, West Ham and Fulham in the runup to Sunday’s showdown.

The two sides are no stranger to a cup final meeting and they’ve produced some dramatic encounters with everything on the line. Mail Sport looks back on six memorable finales between the clubs.

Chelsea and Liverpool have been involved in some dramatic finals ahead of Sunday’s clash

Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool – 2005 League Cup final

Jose Mourinho, in search of his first trophy as Chelsea manager, was stunned after 45 seconds when John-Arne Riise volleyed home a rocket to send the Liverpool fans berserk. How many times have we seen that from the Norwegian?

Mourinho then reacted in true Mourinho fashion to a late own goal by Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard by strolling down the touchline and shushing the Liverpool fans before getting sent off for doing so.

With the Portuguese manager watching on from solitary confinement, momentum shifted in extra time and Chelsea took advantage. Two scrappy goals from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman ensured that Antonio Nunez’s header was nothing more than a consolation.

Ironically, Mourinho was absent from the pitchside celebrations as his team lifted their first trophy during his reign.

John-Arne Riise stunned Chelsea with a thunderbolt after 45 seconds in the 2005 League Cup

Jose Mourinho had the last laugh as he lifted the trophy after being sent off for shushing fans 

Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea – 2006 Community Shield final

Although this final had a very different ending, it started with yet another rocket from the boot of Riise to open the scoring, this time from over 25 yards out.

Andriy Shevchenko’s debut goal levelled the scores on the stroke of half-time with a composed control and finish more than worthy of his record-breaking price tag.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez wasn’t going to let his Portuguese counterpart get the better of him in two consecutive finals, was he? Not if Peter Crouch had anything to do with it.

The Reds were finally rewarded for their second-half threats in the 80th minute via the head of Crouch, who met Craig Bellamy’s cross with intent to secure the trophy. 

Liverpool got the better of Chelsea in the 2006 Community Shield final thanks to Peter Crouch

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool – 2012 FA Cup final

In a new era, where Chelsea’s caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo was looking to secure a permanent role and Kenny Dalglish was back in charge of his beloved Liverpool, this Wembley showdown was not without drama.

Ramires unleashed his pace down the right wing to break free and give Chelsea the lead before Drogba netted his inevitable goal to put the Blues in a commanding position just after the break.

However, they had their backs against the wall for the remainder of the second half, with Andy Carroll making an instant impact off the bench to restore hope for his side.

As the game entered the final stages, it was Carroll who thought he had snatched an equaliser, but Petr Cech came up with an incredible flying save to ensure the Blues went home with the silverware. 

Didier Drogba (left) inspired Chelsea to a 2-1 in over Liverpool in the 2012 FA Cup final 

That wouldn’t be the end of Chelsea’s remarkable season as they’d follow this triumph up with a memorable Champions League final win over Bayern Munich just weeks later.

Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea (5-4 on pens) – 2019 UEFA Super Cup final

The two sides upped the ante with yet another enthralling encounter in a final – this time in Europe – as they played out a four-goal thriller in Istanbul.

Liverpool, fresh off the back of winning their first Champions League trophy under Klopp, responded well to Olivier Giroud’s opener as Sadio Mane’s brace put them 2-1 up in extra time.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates joyously after Adrian’s shootout heroics inspired his side to a 5-4 triumph on penalties against Chelsea in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup

However, their lead was short lived as Adrian, making his Liverpool debut, was penalised for bringing down Tammy Abraham inside the box, handing Chelsea the chance to level from the spot, which Jorginho converted.

It was Adrian who had the last laugh though, with the Spaniard saving Abraham’s penalty in the shootout to steal the spotlight, causing Klopp to go full Rocky Balboa mode in the post-match antics.

Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (10-11 on pens) – 2022 League Cup final

This encounter had it all. Apart from goals…

A frantic match saw both sides spurn chances in front of goal, as well as some fine shop-stopping from Edouard Mendy and Caoimhin Kelleher.

Joel Matip thought he had nicked a second-half lead but it was ruled out after a VAR check. Chelsea then had two goals of their own ruled out for offside in extra time.

Kepa Arrizabalaga blazed his effort over after being brought on in the 2022 Carabao Cup final

Despite the game ending goalless, Liverpool’s penalty shootout win was filled with drama

With neither side able to convert, the game was heading for a penalty shootout, but not before a tactical masterclass from Thomas Tuchel.

Despite Mendy’s stellar performance, Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought on for the shootout. However, with no one blinking, it came all the way round to the Spaniard, who blazed over to see Liverpool clinch it 11-10. 

Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (5-6 on pens)  – 2022 FA Cup final

When Mohamed Salah was taken off injured just after the half hour mark, Tuchel must’ve thought that it was time to avenge the loss of a few months prior.

Both Marcos Alonso and Andrew Robertson were denied by the frame of the goal in normal time and, after a drab period of extra time, we were heading to a penalty shootout for the third consecutive time in a final between the two teams.

Liverpool edged out Chelsea again from 12 yards to claim their second trophy of the season 

Cesar Azpilicueta failed to convert Chelsea’s second penalty but Mendy, this time on the field, gave them a lifeline as he denied Mane the goal-winning spot kick.

Though it was short-lived as Alisson denied Mount before Kostas Tsimikas was the unlikely match-winner.