Ruben Loftus-Cheek lashed at the ball, leaving Jack Butland no chance, five minutes later Mason Mount prodded home the second. The Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea continues all the way to Wembley, again, on May 14.
The club may be sold in the coming weeks but this remains the team assembled with his money, the coach appointed by his restless drive for success. There is no new name above the door just yet. And now Chelsea must face down Liverpool in the FA Cup final, the last marquee event of Abramovich’s time at the club. The line will then be drawn between this season and next.
This was a sluggish, hard-fought victory, and perhaps more impressive for that. Chelsea looked drained by their ultimately futile exertions in midweek, but rallied sufficiently late in the second-half to dispatch a Crystal Palace side sadly short on ambition.
Chelsea claimed a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in a hard-fought FA Cup semi-final on Saturday afternoon
Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s terrific strike from the edge of the box fired the Blues in front at Wembley 20 minutes into the second half
There is plenty of talent in this Palace side and who knows what they might have done had Patrick Vieira let them off the leash a little. Instead, they waited to hit Chelsea on the counter-attack and, in doing so, squandered what might have been a fine opportunity. If not exactly there for the taking, Chelsea were certainly vulnerable and far too slow for the opening 45 minutes. A better rhythm after half-time saw them take the game to Palace, and get the breakthroughs that left them comfortable.
The first came after 65 minutes when Tyrick Mitchell surrendered possession. Kai Havertz was the beneficiary and his cross clipped Marc Guehi and deflected into the path of Loftus-Cheek. It sat up sweetly and the midfielder’s contact was equally fine. It was a fierce hit through a busy penalty area and left the goalkeeper no chance.
Just five minutes later, game over. Jordan Ayew lost the ball on the left, Timo Werner passed inside to Mount and his first touch took him through Palace’s defensive barrier before he poked the ball past Butland. It was his 12th goal in all competitions this season, the best return of his career. It was also the first time two English players had scored for Chelsea in the same game at Wembley since Peter Housemann and Ian Hutchinson in the 1970 FA Cup final. And they’ve not exactly been strangers since then.
Palace had their moments, mainly from set pieces, with Cheikhou Kouyate and Joachim Andersen going close in the second-half, but their fans were much better than their team, sensing the specialness of the occasion and putting on a defiant show of flags, sound and coloured smoke. The team, disappointingly, couldn’t match it. Chelsea were very much in control. Romelu Lukaku hit a post from another Werner pass, as Chelsea were denied a third. It wouldn’t have flattered them, by the end, either.
Loftus-Cheek broke the deadlock having come off the bench early on in the game, sending Chelsea on their way to a third straight final.
Mason Mount then produced a cool finish from inside the box to double their lead and give Palace a mountain to climb
Mount’s strike was enough to seal the west London club’s place in the final, where they will meet Liverpool next month
Through the first-half the Crystal Palace supporters kept up a constant barrage of noise and enthusiasm which only goes to show that were not grasping the reality of then situation.
For, heavens, those first 45 minutes were dull. Barely a save, barely a chance, and at either end.
Chelsea were patient, Palace bided their time waiting for the counter-attack. Patience certainly wasn’t a virtue and the counter-attacks were much like the west coast line trains this weekend: cancelled.
Chelsea had two chances, both miscued, Palace one, which forced a fine save from Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, surprisingly preferred by manager Thomas Tuchel in a bizarre attempt to win the game.
The incident that produced the greatest reaction came in the 38th minute when Kai Havertz was booked by referee Anthony Taylor for a blatant dive under no pressure from Marc Guehi, who actually withdrew his leg.
Mateo Kovacic made his excuses after 25 minutes, after a hard night in Madrid, and plainly the teams that travelled to the Spanish capital this week looked below par in their weekend outings at Wembley.
It took Chelsea 29 minutes to muster a chance and when it arrived Timo Werner’s chip was completely miskicked by captain Cesar Azpilicueta, spinning off his boot tamely for a goal-kick. He was in a good position, too.
Shortly after, Mason Mount had a shot but again it wasn’t struck right and flew harmlessly over the bar.
Better was Palace’s only first-half chance. A header out from a free-kick did not go the distance and dropped to Cheiukhou Kouyate, who returned it with venom. Mendy made an excellent stop, getting down sharply to his left.
source:dailymail