With an edge-of-the-seat semi-final in the fifth minute of added time, Cole fastened on to Arjen Robben's centre six yards out and stunned his teammates by shooting over the bar when it seemed easier to score. It was a ghastly lapse in technique and cost Chelsea, who had trailed 2-0, the chance to complete the transformation from deficit into profit in extra time.
Despite Chelsea's strong finish, Liverpool deserved their success, having had much the better of a first half in which Mourinho, strangely, opted to play without wingers. Paulo Ferreira has his merits, but he is not an outside-right, which is where he played for 45 minutes. The error of the Special One's ways were evident in the second half when, in adversity, he threw on Cole, Arjen Robben and Damien Duff and Liverpool, terrorised on the flanks, were pinned on the back foot throughout.
Didier Drogba's 16th goal of the season, after 70 minutes, sparked the fightback and brought a dramatic finale to what was previously a surprisingly mundane match.
Earlier, John Arne Riise and Luis Garcia had put Liverpool in command with well-executed strikes from 20 yards. The first surprise came early, Mourinho deploying Ferreira just in front of Geremi. This meant he had an international full-back in midfield and an international midfielder at full-back. Genius is simplicity, or so they tell us. This was something else.
The first save was made by Carlo Cudicini — unconvincingly. Xabi Alonso's shot from distance was well struck, but should have posed no real threat. To Chelsea's alarm, however, their reserve goalkeeper seemed to see it late, and pushed it out in front of him when a safe catch appeared to be routine.
Steven Gerrard, playing against the team he twice came close to joining, wandered all across the midfield, and just about everywhere else, turning in yet another selfless, inspiring performance. Mohamed Sissoko, who outshone Claude Makelele, was the Liverpool captain's main rival as man of the match.
Chelsea ought to have taken the lead after 20 minutes, when Frank Lampard played the ball though to Drogba, who appeared to be at least a yard offside. The referee's assistant begged to differ, and there was no flag to spare the blushes of the man from the Ivory Coast when he shot horribly wide.
Punishment was quickly forthcoming. Midway through the first half Liverpool were awarded a dubious free kick, against John Terry, on the edge of the D and Riise knocked it short to Gerrard, who stopped the ball for the Norwegian to beat Cudicini low to his right with a left-footed strike that bisected Lampard and Ferreira in Chelsea's defensive wall.
A mistake by Terry would have presented Liverpool with a 2-0 lead but for the alertness of his goalkeeper. The England centre-half was short with his headed backpass and grateful for Cudicini's timely advance to deny Peter Crouch in front of goal. Chelsea were out of sorts and all the noise was coming from the red legions. The Mersey choir was silenced, briefly, just before half-time, when Gerrard's penetrative cross from the right was wasted by Garcia's horribly mis-hit finish.
Mourinho had to change things at the interval, and for the second half Robben was sent on in place of Asier Del Horno. A reshuffle took Ferreira to left-back and Chelsea to 4-3-3, and within five minutes of the resumption they thought they had equality when Robben sent a long free kick from the right to the far post, where Terry headed the ball in.
It looked like a typical goal from the powerful defender, but the referee spotted that he had jumped early, taking a ride on Riise's back. Foul awarded, correct decision.
Liverpool scored the decisive second goal, in the 53rd minute, when a throw-in from the right from Steve Finnan produced a comedy of errors in Chelsea's renowned defence. First Ferreira nodded the ball into dangerous territory in the middle, then William Gallas and Makelele got in each other's way, allowing Garcia, who had spurned two easier chances, to beat Cudicini with a left-footed shot from the edge of the area.
Chelsea sent on Cole and Duff and went for broke, getting back in it courtesy of an error by Riise, who essayed an unnecessary diving header at Makelele's cross when a volleyed clearance was the requirement and succeeded only in sending the ball into the air, and at the same time taking keeper Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher out of the game.
Drogba, left with a routine header, could hardly believe his good fortune. Cue a frantic finale and Cole's desperate miss.