Scheduled to provide a clear four-week period between the end of the English season and the start of UEFA Euro 2012, the date of the final clashed with Premier League fixtures.

Liverpool's matches were similar, with three ending in a 2–1 scoreline, while the other two against Oldham Athletic and Brighton & Hove Albion were won by at least four goals.

Carroll ran off celebrating, as he thought the ball had crossed, but referee Phil Dowd did not award a goal and Chelsea held on to win the match 2–1.

After a goalless first half Juan Mata struck early in the second, before Ramires hit two in two minutes and Frank Lampard scored in stoppage time to give Chelsea a 4–0 win.

[6] Chelsea then travelled to face local rivals Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in the Fourth Round, where a controversial Mata penalty was enough to see them through.

[8] Daniel Sturridge scored in the second half to force a replay, which was played on 6 March at Birmingham, just two days after André Villas-Boas was relieved of his duties as Chelsea manager.

[10] In the second half, Fernando Torres ended a goal drought of over 25 hours to score, before Jermaine Beckford gave Leicester a late lifeline.

The first half was even, with both sides enjoying long spells of possession, until Didier Drogba put Chelsea ahead just before the break.

[11] Gareth Bale put Tottenham back in it with a goal shortly after a Petr Čech challenge on Emmanuel Adebayor.

[13] With the match approaching full-time, Dirk Kuyt scored in the 88th minute to give Liverpool a 2–1 victory and secured their place in the Fifth Round.

"[24] In addition to the later kick-off time, travelling supporters from Liverpool faced major difficulties getting to and from the final after Virgin Trains cancelled the majority of its direct services between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston with maintenance work taking place on the West Coast Main Line over the May Day bank holiday weekend.

[28] Chelsea scored in the 10th minute when Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing lost possession of the ball to Ramires; the Brazilian subsequently went past defender José Enrique into the Liverpool penalty area, where his shot went through goalkeeper Pepe Reina's legs and into the goal to give Chelsea a 1–0 lead.

[29] Liverpool responded by going on the attack; a Glen Johnson pass found striker Craig Bellamy, whose shot was cleared off the line by Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanović.

[28] Liverpool were still struggling to maintain possession; with Steven Gerrard playing deep in midfield, there was a lack of support for striker Suárez.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard profited from Liverpool's failure to hold on to possession when he received the ball from a misplaced Jordan Henderson pass, but his shot 40 yards (37 m) away from goal went wide.

The first yellow card of the match was shown to Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi in the 36th minute after a mistimed tackle on Gerrard.

[29] Liverpool had another chance straight afterwards, but Suárez was unable to direct his header at goal after receiving the ball from Henderson.

The Reds subsequently went on the attack and won a corner, but the ball into the Chelsea penalty area by Bellamy was cleared.

A Suárez shot was saved by Čech, and manager Kenny Dalglish replaced midfielder Spearing with striker Andy Carroll.

[28] Carroll thought he equalised in the 81st minute when his header from a Suárez cross was then palmed by Čech onto the underside of the bar and away to safety.

[30] Liverpool continued to push forward for the equaliser in the closing minutes, but they were unable to score, and the match finished 2–1 to Chelsea.

Caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo was relaxed about his prospects of securing the full-term following their victory: "The boss [ Roman Abramovich ] will make a decision at the end of the season.

Chelsea captain John Terry was equally pleased with the performance, but turned his attention to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, where they would face Bayern Munich: "It's fantastic, it's what we live for.

"[32] Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was adamant that his players would improve following the defeat: "They've been in two cup finals in this season – they'll have enjoyed the first one more than the second, the lads will benefit from the experience.

[35] Liverpool finished the season in eighth place and Dalglish was subsequently sacked 8 days later on 16 May 2012 and replaced by Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers.

[38] Chelsea's victory in the FA Cup final set up a Community Shield match against Manchester City, the winners of the 2011–12 Premier League.