Chelsea substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek put in a top-class performance as Thomas Tuchel’s side beat Crystal Palace in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Palace got the better of Chelsea in the first half and had the first real chance in the 36th minute. Ebere Eze whipped a free-kick in but it was only half-cleared by the Chelsea defence. That allowed Cheikhou Kouyate to fire a first-time volley at goal, forcing a smart stop from Edouard Mendy. Joachim Andersen smashed the follow-up against the post, although he was offside.
The first opportunity of the second half also fell to Kouyate. Eze put a corner into a dangerous area and Kouyate rose above Mason Mount to head at goal, but could only direct his effort wide from close range.
Chelsea punished Palace for that miss soon afterwards. Cesar Azpilicueta pinched from Tyrick Mitchell, allowing Kai Havertz to run at Marc Guehi. He pulled it back for Loftus-Cheek and the English midfielder smashed into the top corner with help from a Joachim Andersen deflection.
And the Blues had a two-goal cushion by the 76th minute. Mount linked up with Timo Werner, raced into the penalty area and then picked out the bottom corner with a sliding finish.
Patrick Vieira’s side had a great chance to get one back moments later. A corner was flicked on by substitute Jordan Ayew and Andersen was unmarked at the back post. However, the centre-back headed over when he really should have scored.
Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to hit the woodwork in the 90th minute – he also should have found the back of the net. Chelsea saw the win through however, reaching their third straight FA Cup final in the process.
The result means Chelsea will come up against Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday May 14. It is a repeat of this season’s Carabao Cup final, which Liverpool won on penalties.
Goalscorer Loftus-Cheek was given man of the match, while several Palace stars were kept quiet…
Chelsea (3-4-3)
Edouard Mendy: Had to react quickly to save…