Chelsea cruised into a determined FA Cup semi-final victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium in a very thrilling contest.
The Blues opened the scoring already on the fifth minute of the match, as Willian’s lovely free-kick to the far-corner from the left surprised Hugo Lloris between the sticks.
Harry Kane headed an equalizer ten minutes later, but just before half-time arrived, Heung-min Son’s poor tackle caught the legs of Victor Moses conceding a definite penalty for Chelsea, which the same guy Willian made no mistake of regaining Chelsea’s lead for half-time.
Tottenham didn’t give up and Christian Eriksen’s terrific pass found Dele Alli on the 52th minute just like in the previous meeting at White Hart Lane, tying up the scores for the second time coming.
Antonio Conte brought on the big guns – Eden Hazard and Diego Costa – at 61st minute, and it only took 14 minutes for the Belgian to rifle Chelsea into the lead for the third time this afternoon.
Against the run of play, the Blues had cruised back on top, and to clinch the emphatic victory Nemanja Matic hit a thunderous goal from 25 yards out with his left, right to the top of his right-hand corner. No keeper alive would’ve stopped that shot!
The full-time score 4-2 sees the Blues advance to the FA Cup final, where they’ll face either Manchester City or Arsenal who play each other tomorrow.
Here are our player ratings of the game:
Starting Eleven
Thibaut Courtois – 6Â – Didn’t have much to do with the conceded goals, but his goal-line save from Harry Kane’s free-kick on the last minute of the game was quite important. Clean-sheet was never really expected.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 8 – Solid game from the Spaniard who held the armband in today’s victory following John Terry and Gary Cahill’s absence.
David Luiz – 9Â – MOTM – Terrific game from the Brazilian who made plenty of key interceptions and tackles. Got stamped by Dele Alli but remained strong and didn’t let the knock bother him. Voted as the Man of the Match.
Nathan Ake – 8 – Wonderful game for the young Dutchman, especially since he was thrown in from the blue to a huge fixture like this. Dealt well with the pressure and showed a very solid display. Unfortunate to let his man Kane off guard to score a goal, but his terrific sliding challenge inside the area against Alli really paid up for that. Would’ve been a definite goal without his challenge. Maybe Conte will even drop Cahill now that Ake’s got his game going.
Victor Moses – 8 – Yet another crucial display from the wing-back. Strong in the runs and even won the Blues a smart penalty which led to Willian’s 2-1 goal.
N’Golo Kante – 8 – The good old Kante just never seems to change. He was yet again one of the most decisive players in the Blues team, and he’s probably the only player who has taken down Victor Wanyama this season. Got booked late which forced Courtois to make a good save from Kane’s free-kick.
Nemanja Matic – 8 – Solid game, got better the later the game went on, and his goal – well – WOW. A stunning, unstoppable strike from Hazard’s back-pass really couldn’t have made the night any better. Applaud applaud.
Marcos Alonso – 7 – Good game from the Spaniard. Maybe a fraction slower than usually which was very understandable considering his recent illness. Nevertheless, he provided some quality crosses and helped out the defence very smartly.
Willian – 9 –Â Well, this occasion is a perfect example of why Chelsea just couldn’t watch and let Spurs sign him in the first place. Terrific brace with a quality goal from both a free-kick and the penalty spot. Was subbed off on the 74th minute leaving him a whisker away from a hat-trick.
Michy Batshuayi – 6 – Not much of a threat attacking-wise, but his hold-up play and coming strong to each challenge really reminded a few of the young Didier Drogba that used to dominate the Wembley.
Pedro – 7 – Not as visible figure in the Chelsea attack as some might’ve hoped. Good movement on and off the ball though, creating a few nice chances, but should’ve done a lot better in a 4 v 3 counter but waited with his pass for too long. Earned the free-kick that Willian scored on the 5th minute.
Subs:
Eden Hazard – 9 – Well, you can’t really plan a better 30 minute cameo than he just provided. Super sub from Conte as the Belgian didn’t need a quarter of an hour to regain Chelsea’s lead with a sublime left-footed finish from the edge of the area, and assist another ten minutes later. He was brought on to make the difference, which is exactly what he did.
Diego Costa – 5Â – Didn’t play as big part from the bench as Hazard did despite being brought on on the same minute. Had a great chance to score with his head but directed his effort wide from seven yards out. Six games without a goal now, wonder if he’s going to start next time.
Cesc Fabregas – 6 – Replaced Pedro a minute before Hazard’s effort, so he gets double positives for affecting the run of play leading Chelsea to score two more goals. Otherwise pretty standard stuff from the Spaniard.
