• FA Cup

Carragher likens Everton win to Istanbul triumph

Jamie Carragher is hoping he and Steven Gerrard will be adding the FA Cup to their Carling Cup triumph this season © Getty Images

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Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher likened his side's FA Cup semi-final win over Everton on Saturday to their 2005 Champions League final triumph, after the Reds came from behind to beat their rivals.

A mix-up between Carragher and team-mate Daniel Agger allowed Nikica Jelavic to give Everton the lead, and the Liverpool veteran admitted he began to fear the worst until Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll scored second-half goals to book a final spot.

"I was close to tears to be honest. I think if we'd lost that game I don't know if I'd have ever recovered," said Carragher in The Sun.

"As an Everton fan as a kid, this was the biggest derby I've ever played so I'm delighted the lads have done it and helped me out. It's one of the biggest games I've played in, right up there with the Champions League final. The thought of the stick me and Stevie Gerrard would have got on the streets of Liverpool if we'd lost that game....

"We've played in big finals in the Champions League and FA Cup but this was right up there because of who we were playing. Because it was at Wembley it felt more like a final."

Despite Liverpool's league form Carragher believes they can take on any team in a one-off game, and his side will now face Chelsea in the May 5 final.

"We're not as good as the teams at the top of the league but with one-off games it's different," he said. "I don't think we won because of our great ability or great players - it's a character thing. The teams at the top are the best teams but in one-off games we have something inside us."

Carragher also backed Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, adding: "However the game went he deserved a bit of slack and even more so now. We were on our knees when he came in. We hadn't won a trophy for six years and we did that. And we hadn't even played at the new Wembley and now it's three times in one year."

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