List of EFL Cup finals

Summary

The EFL Cup is a knockout cup competition in English football organised by and named after the English Football League (EFL).[1] The competition was established in 1960 and is considered to be the second-most important domestic cup competition for English football clubs, after the FA Cup.[2] The competition is open to all 72 members of the English Football League and the 20 members of the Premier League. For the first six seasons of the competition, the final was contested over two legs, one at each participating club's stadium. The first Football League Cup was won by Aston Villa, who beat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate, after losing the first leg 2–0. The competition's first single-legged final was held in 1967: Queens Park Rangers defeated West Bromwich Albion 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in London.[1]

The Football League Cup on display.
The winner of the final receives the eponymous EFL Cup.

As of 2024, 23 clubs have won the EFL Cup. Liverpool hold the record for the most EFL Cup titles, with ten victories in the competition. Liverpool's wins include four consecutive titles from 1981 to 1984, while Manchester City's, who have won eight times, include four consecutive titles from 2018 to 2021. Nottingham Forest and Manchester United are the only other clubs to have won consecutive titles. Forest won two consecutive titles twice – in 1978 and 1979, and 1989 and 1990, while United won consecutive editions in 2009 and 2010. Arsenal have been runners-up more than any other club; they have lost the final six times. The current holders are Liverpool, who beat Chelsea 1–0 after extra time in the 2024 final to win their tenth League Cup.

History edit

The first winners of the tournament were Aston Villa. The final was contested over two legs for the first six years of the competition. During this period many First Division clubs refused to take part, allowing clubs from outside the First Division to regularly reach the final. The first club from outside the First Division to win the competition was Norwich City of the Second Division in 1962. Queen's Park Rangers and Swindon Town, both then of Division Three, matched this feat in 1967 and 1969 respectively. Sheffield Wednesday, then in the Second Division, became the last club to win the competition while competing outside the First Division, when they beat Manchester United in the 1991 final.[1]

In the late 1960s, the winners of the competition were granted automatic qualification to the UEFA Cup.[3] With the promise of potential European football, First Division clubs entered the competition, and all 92 Football League clubs entered the League Cup for the first time in 1969–70. Meanwhile, the final of the competition had also been altered; it would now be played over a single leg at Wembley Stadium. The final went to a replay for the first time in 1977, with Aston Villa requiring two replays to overcome Everton; the first was held at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, and the second at Old Trafford in Manchester.[1]

The following year, Nottingham Forest won the first of two consecutive titles, the first time that any club won back-to-back League Cup titles. The first took a replay at Old Trafford to beat Liverpool, and they beat Southampton 3–2 to win the second. Liverpool won four consecutive titles between 1981 and 1984, a record equalled by Manchester City in 2021. Nottingham Forest won two more consecutive titles in 1989 and 1990.[3]

The last League Cup final replay was held in 1997; Leicester City beat Middlesbrough 1–0 after extra time at Hillsborough, after the two clubs had played out a 1–1 draw at Wembley. The rules were changed afterwards with a penalty shootout incorporated instead of replays.[4] The first single-match final to be played outside London was held in 2001, as the final was moved to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium while the new Wembley Stadium was under construction.[1] Liverpool and Chelsea were the two most prolific League Cup sides in Cardiff, as both clubs won two titles each. The final returned to London in 2008, where Tottenham Hotspur became the first side to win the competition at the new Wembley, beating Chelsea 2–1 after extra time.[5]

Finals edit

Key to the list of finals
Match was won during extra time
* Match was won on a penalty shoot-out
& Match was won after a replay
§ Match was won after a replay in extra time
£ Match was won after two replays in extra time
Italics Club from outside the top-tier of English football
(#) Number of trophy win of club

All teams are English, except where marked   (Welsh).

EFL Cup winners
Final Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance
1961 Aston Villa (1) 0–2 Rotherham United Millmoor 12,226
3–0 Villa Park 31,202
Aston Villa won 3–2 on aggregate
1962 Norwich City (1) 3–0 Rochdale Spotland 11,123
1–0 Carrow Road 19,708
Norwich City won 4–0 on aggregate
1963 Birmingham City (1) 3–1 Aston Villa St Andrew's 31,850
0–0 Villa Park 37,921
Birmingham City won 3–1 on aggregate
1964 Leicester City (1) 1–1 Stoke City Victoria Ground 22,309
3–2 Filbert Street 25,372
Leicester City won 4–3 on aggregate
1965 Chelsea (1) 3–2 Leicester City Stamford Bridge 20,690
0–0 Filbert Street 26,958
Chelsea won 3–2 on aggregate
1966 West Bromwich Albion (1) 1–2 West Ham United Boleyn Ground 28,341
4–1 The Hawthorns 31,925
West Bromwich Albion won 5–3 on aggregate
1967 Queens Park Rangers (1) 3–2 West Bromwich Albion Wembley Stadium 97,952
1968 Leeds United (1) 1–0 Arsenal Wembley Stadium 97,887
1969 Swindon Town (1) 3–1 Arsenal Wembley Stadium 98,189
1970 Manchester City (1) 2–1 West Bromwich Albion Wembley Stadium 97,963
1971 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2–0 Aston Villa Wembley Stadium 100,000
1972 Stoke City (1) 2–1 Chelsea Wembley Stadium 97,852
1973 Tottenham Hotspur (2) 1–0 Norwich City Wembley Stadium 100,000
1974 Wolverhampton Wanderers (1) 2–1 Manchester City Wembley Stadium 97,886
1975 Aston Villa (2) 1–0 Norwich City Wembley Stadium 95,946
1976 Manchester City (2) 2–1 Newcastle United Wembley Stadium 100,000
1977 Aston Villa (3) 0–0 Everton Wembley Stadium 100,000
1–1 Hillsborough Stadium 55,000
3–2£ Old Trafford 54,749
1978 Nottingham Forest (1) 0–0 Liverpool Wembley Stadium 100,000
1–0& Old Trafford 54,375
1979 Nottingham Forest (2) 3–2 Southampton Wembley Stadium 96,952
1980 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2) 1–0 Nottingham Forest Wembley Stadium 96,527
1981 Liverpool (1) 1–1 West Ham United Wembley Stadium 100,000
2–1& Villa Park 36,693
1982 Liverpool (2) 3–1 Tottenham Hotspur Wembley Stadium 100,000
1983 Liverpool (3) 2–1 Manchester United Wembley Stadium 99,304
1984 Liverpool (4) 0–0 Everton Wembley Stadium 100,000
1–0& Maine Road 52,089
1985 Norwich City (2) 1–0 Sunderland Wembley Stadium 100,000
1986 Oxford United (1) 3–0 Queens Park Rangers Wembley Stadium 90,396
1987 Arsenal (1) 2–1 Liverpool Wembley Stadium 96,000
1988 Luton Town (1) 3–2 Arsenal Wembley Stadium 95,732
1989 Nottingham Forest (3) 3–1 Luton Town Wembley Stadium 76,130
1990 Nottingham Forest (4) 1–0 Oldham Athletic Wembley Stadium 74,343
1991 Sheffield Wednesday (1) 1–0 Manchester United Wembley Stadium 77,612
1992 Manchester United (1) 1–0 Nottingham Forest Wembley Stadium 76,810
1993 Arsenal (2) 2–1 Sheffield Wednesday Wembley Stadium 74,007
1994 Aston Villa (4) 3–1 Manchester United Wembley Stadium 77,231
1995 Liverpool (5) 2–1 Bolton Wanderers Wembley Stadium 75,595
1996 Aston Villa (5) 3–0 Leeds United Wembley Stadium 77,065
1997 Leicester City (2) 1–1 Middlesbrough Wembley Stadium 76,757
1–0§ Hillsborough Stadium 39,428
1998 Chelsea (2) 2–0 Middlesbrough Wembley Stadium 77,698
1999 Tottenham Hotspur (3) 1–0 Leicester City Wembley Stadium 77,892
2000 Leicester City (3) 2–1 Tranmere Rovers Wembley Stadium 74,313
2001 Liverpool (6) 1–1 *[a] Birmingham City Millennium Stadium 73,500
2002 Blackburn Rovers (1) 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur Millennium Stadium 72,500
2003 Liverpool (7) 2–0 Manchester United Millennium Stadium 74,500
2004 Middlesbrough (1) 2–1 Bolton Wanderers Millennium Stadium 72,634
2005 Chelsea (3) 3–2 Liverpool Millennium Stadium 78,000
2006 Manchester United (2) 4–0 Wigan Athletic Millennium Stadium 66,866
2007 Chelsea (4) 2–1 Arsenal Millennium Stadium 70,073
2008 Tottenham Hotspur (4) 2–1 Chelsea Wembley Stadium 87,660
2009 Manchester United (3) 0–0 *[b] Tottenham Hotspur Wembley Stadium 88,217
2010 Manchester United (4) 2–1 Aston Villa Wembley Stadium 88,596
2011 Birmingham City (2) 2–1 Arsenal Wembley Stadium 88,851
2012 Liverpool (8) 2–2 *[c]   Cardiff City Wembley Stadium 89,041
2013   Swansea City (1) 5–0 Bradford City Wembley Stadium 82,597
2014 Manchester City (3) 3–1 Sunderland Wembley Stadium 84,697
2015 Chelsea (5) 2–0 Tottenham Hotspur Wembley Stadium 89,294
2016 Manchester City (4) 1–1 *[d] Liverpool Wembley Stadium 86,206
2017 Manchester United (5) 3–2 Southampton Wembley Stadium 85,264
2018 Manchester City (5) 3–0 Arsenal Wembley Stadium 85,671
2019 Manchester City (6) 0–0 *[e] Chelsea Wembley Stadium 81,775
2020 Manchester City (7) 2–1 Aston Villa Wembley Stadium 82,145
2021 Manchester City (8) 1–0 Tottenham Hotspur Wembley Stadium 7,773
2022 Liverpool (9) 0–0 *[f] Chelsea Wembley Stadium 85,512
2023 Manchester United (6) 2–0 Newcastle United Wembley Stadium 87,306
2024 Liverpool (10) 1–0 Chelsea Wembley Stadium 88,868

Results by club edit

EFL Cup winners by club
Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Liverpool 10 4 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2022, 2024 1978, 1987, 2005, 2016
Manchester City 8 1 1970, 1976, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 1974
Manchester United 6 4 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2023 1983, 1991, 1994, 2003
Chelsea 5 5 1965, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2015 1972, 2008, 2019, 2022, 2024
Aston Villa 5 4 1961, 1975, 1977, 1994, 1996 1963, 1971, 2010, 2020
Tottenham Hotspur 4 5 1971, 1973, 1999, 2008 1982, 2002, 2009, 2015, 2021
Nottingham Forest 4 2 1978, 1979, 1989, 1990 1980, 1992
Leicester City 3 2 1964, 1997, 2000 1965, 1999
Arsenal 2 6 1987, 1993 1968, 1969, 1988, 2007, 2011, 2018
Norwich City 2 2 1962, 1985 1973, 1975
Birmingham City 2 1 1963, 2011 2001
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 0 1974, 1980
West Bromwich Albion 1 2 1966 1967, 1970
Middlesbrough 1 2 2004 1997, 1998
Queens Park Rangers 1 1 1967 1986
Leeds United 1 1 1968 1996
Stoke City 1 1 1972 1964
Luton Town 1 1 1988 1989
Sheffield Wednesday 1 1 1991 1993
Swindon Town 1 0 1969
Oxford United 1 0 1986
Blackburn Rovers 1 0 2002
  Swansea City 1 0 2013
West Ham United 0 2 1966, 1981
Newcastle United 0 2 1976, 2023
Everton 0 2 1977, 1984
Southampton 0 2 1979, 2017
Sunderland 0 2 1985, 2014
Bolton Wanderers 0 2 1995, 2004
Rotherham United 0 1 1961
Rochdale 0 1 1962
Oldham Athletic 0 1 1990
Tranmere Rovers 0 1 2000
Wigan Athletic 0 1 2006
  Cardiff City 0 1 2012
Bradford City 0 1 2013

Notes edit

  1. ^ Liverpool won the 2001 final 5–4 in the penalty shoot-out.[6]
  2. ^ Manchester United won the 2009 final 4–1 in the penalty shoot-out.[7]
  3. ^ Liverpool won the 2012 final 3–2 in the penalty shoot-out.[8]
  4. ^ Manchester City won the 2016 final 3–1 in the penalty shoot-out.[9]
  5. ^ Manchester City won the 2019 final 4–3 in the penalty shoot-out.
  6. ^ Liverpool won the 2022 final 11–10 in the penalty shoot-out.

References edit

General
  • "Carling Cup Records". Football League Cup. Coors Brewing Company. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
  • "England – Football League Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  • "England – League Cup Finals 1961–2001". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e "The History of the League Cup". Football League Cup. Coors Brewing Company. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
  2. ^ Ronay, Barney (23 January 2008). "Why Everton or Spurs must win the Carling Cup". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b "League Cup History". football-league.co.uk. The Football League. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  4. ^ "League Cup Past Winners". football-league.co.uk. The Football League. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  5. ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (24 February 2008). "Tottenham 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  6. ^ Wade, Stephen (25 February 2001). "Liverpool win League Cup after penalty shoot-out". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 January 2009.[dead link]
  7. ^ McNulty, Phil (1 March 2009). "Man Utd 0–0 Tottenham (aet)". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  8. ^ Bevan, Chris (26 February 2012). "Cardiff City 2–2 Liverpool (aet)". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  9. ^ McNulty, Phil (28 February 2016). "Liverpool 1–1 Manchester City (aet)". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 28 February 2016.