Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City
Chelsea are through to the final of the 2021 FA Cup thanks to a second half strike from man-of-the-match Hakim Ziyech.
It was a landmark victory for head coach Thomas Tuchel as the man who led his team to end Manchester City’s quadruple dreams. Pep Guardiola made eight changes to his starting line-up and he may be regretting that decision as his team created less in 90 minutes than in any other game this season.
At SBOTOP odds of 2.75 to make it through to the final the Blues were full value for their victory win and are now favourites to win the trophy.
Highlights of the game
But the first half wasn’t the spectacle we had hoped for. Chelsea started well and Hakim Ziyech had the ball in the net with just six minutes on the clock, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Zack Steffen was handed the goalkeeper’s jersey for the Sky Blues and he was in early action when he reacted well to punch clear a cross from Reece James.
At the other end Kepa made a rare start for Chelsea and he made a confident save to deny Gabriel Jesus. But in a cagey first half that was a close as we came to a breakthrough.
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne limps off after picking up an injury against Chelsea
The Sky Blues suffered a blow early in the second half when Kevin de Bruyne limped off after a coming together with N’Golo Kante, and Chelsea took advantage on 55 minutes when Ziyech put the underdogs ahead. It was a carbon copy of the disallowed goal as Werner raced down the flank and pulled the ball back for Ziyech and, with Steffen in no man’s land the Dutch striker scooped the ball home.
Steffen partially made amends minutes later when Ziyech was clean through again, making a brave save with his feet as the tie came to life. Thomas Tuchel had started with Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic on the bench. They were both outstanding in Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace last week but this week it was Werner and Ziyech doing the damage, but the City stand-in keeper had kept his side in the game.
The Sky Blues were bound to fight back and Ruben Dias had a glorious chance to score when he met a headed pass from Rodri but he skied his point blank header with the goal at his mercy. And with City pressing there was always a chance that Chelsea could catch them on the break, and when Werner raced away again Steffen had to save low to his left to claw the ball to safety.
Chelsea had a nervous moment when the ball appeared to brush Cesar Azpilicueta’s arm in the penalty area but VAR judged in his favour, and Kepa made a good save from Rodri as the Blues held out for a deserved victory.
Key statistics
The pre-match FA Cup 2021 betting odds pitched Chelsea at odds of 5.00 to win the trophy and that will have more than halved now.
Since Tuchel arrived at Chelsea at the start of the year they have lost just twice in 19 games, and this was the first time the Blues had beaten Manchester City in four attempts at the new Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea are now in the FA Cup final for the fourth time in five seasons and it could be a spectacular end to the season for the Blues.
It was the first time Guardiola had been beaten in an encounter with Tuchel as his side lost only their third FA Cup semi-final in the last 12.
And it was City’s first defeat in a cup competition this season having won 18 and drawn one of the previous 19.
What’s next?
There are more FA Cup 2021 highlights to come tomorrow when 4,000 fans will be inside the Wembley Stadium to watch the other semi-final between Leicester City and Southampton and Chelsea fans will be watching that one with interest.
Both teams are in the Champions League semi-finals, Chelsea seeing off Porto and Manchester City breezing past Borussia Dortmund and the Sky Blues are in the Carabao Cup final against Spurs next weekend; but they are back to Premier League duties next week. Chelsea are in action again on Tuesday night when they entertain Graham Potter’s Brighton, while the Sky Blues have an away meeting with Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post FA Cup: Ziyech Fires Chelsea Into the Final! appeared first on SBOTOP.
