2003 Football League Cup Final
Match programme cover
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| Event | 2002–03 Football League Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 2 March 2003 | ||||||
| Venue | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) | ||||||
| Referee | Paul Durkin (Dorset) | ||||||
| Attendance | 74,500 | ||||||
The 2003 Football League Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and Manchester United on 2 March 2003 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2002–03 Football League Cup, the 43rd season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and The Football League. Liverpool were appearing in their ninth final; they had previously won six and lost two, while Manchester United were appearing in the final for the fifth time. They had previously won once and lost three times.
As both teams were in the Premier League, they entered the competition in the third round. Liverpool's matches were generally close affairs, with only two victories secured by two goals or more. They beat Southampton 3–1 in the third round, while their match in the next round against Ipswich Town went to a penalty-shootout, which they won 5–4. Manchester United's matches were also close affairs, their biggest margin of victory of was by two goals. A 2–0 win over Burnley in the fourth round was followed by a 1–0 victory over Chelsea in the fifth round.
Watched by a crowd of 74,500, the first half was goalless until Liverpool took the lead in the 39th minute when midfielder Steven Gerrard scored. The score remained the same until the 86th minute when striker Michael Owen scored to make the score 2–0 to Liverpool. No further goals were scored and Liverpool won to secure their seventh League Cup victory.
Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek was awarded the Alan Hardaker Trophy as man of the match. Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier praised Dudek's performance and claimed that he had a premonition that Dudek would perform well in the match. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also praised Dudek's performance, stating, "Their goalkeeper has won them the game."
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