FA Cup, Chelsea fold the Palace and are in the final with Liverpool

At Wembley the Blues win 2-0 with goals from Loftus-Cheek and Mount. Stake in the final of Lukaku. On May 14, the final act of the competition

It will be Liverpool again against Chelsea, again Tuchel against Klopp: the two German coaches will face each other in the FA Cup final on May 14, after the match last February 27 – won by the Reds – which closed the last edition of the English League Cup. . Thanks to goals from Loftus-Cheek and Mount, in fact, Chelsea won 2-0 against Crystal Palace, redeeming themselves in the Wembley match a few days after the elimination in the Champions League quarter-finals. The goal of the advantage, at 65 ‘, is the result of a forced change: Kovacic’s injury after twenty-five minutes gives way to the magical afternoon of Loftus-Cheek who, scoring 1-0, also finds the first goal of the season. Ten minutes later comes the doubling of Mount, who launches Chelsea towards the super match against Salah and his teammates, scheduled for Saturday 14 May.

THE GREAT ABSENT

Compared to the Champions League match against Real, Tuchel refreshes the defense. Azpilicueta and Christensen are back, Thiago Silva rests and, with him, Kantè too. In attack, confidence confirmed for Mount, Werner and Havertz: after a long period of experimentation, the German coach seems to have found his ideal trident. The Palace instead takes the field without the 22-year-old Gallagher, pivot of Vieira’s midfield, a jewel with 8 goals in the league. The reason? A clause included in the negotiation that led to the transfer on loan from Chelsea to the Eagles, who cannot field him in the matches against the Blues.

THE MATCH

In the first half, Jorginho and his teammates take measures at the Palace: Mount and Havertz look for the goal, but are unable to worry Butland. At 36 ‘Mendy saves on Kouyate, protagonist with a shot from the edge of the most important goal for him. Upon returning to the field, Chelsea pushes on the accelerator: the first real opportunity for the Blues comes in the 65th minute with Loftus-Cheek, who collects a pass from Havertz and beats Butland signing the 1-0, helped by the slight deviation of Andersen. Ten minutes later, Mount trades with Werner, enters the area and aims for the corner by signing an encore. Tuchel thanked Mason and replaced him to make room for Lukaku, who touched the trio hitting the post in the 90th minute. The referee whistles the end of the match and Tuchel smiles, beginning to dream of a rematch in another final against Klopp’s Liverpool.

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