Eden Hazard's first-half penalty decided the FA Cup
final in Chelsea's favour at Wembley to leave Jose Mourinho and Manchester
United empty-handed this season.
This was my first ever Cup Final and I must say the atmosphere was
much better than I ever expected, and the singing of ‘Abide with Me’ was very surreal
I must say, certainly a moment I won’t forget that’s for sure.
Many had predicted a United win, however the first effort
of the game saw Chelsea’s Hazard fire in a near post effort which David De Gea
saved with his legs, but midway through the first half the Blues had the chance
to take the lead when a lovely pass from Cesc Fabregas saw Hazard take the ball
in his stride, outpace Phil Jones, before the United defender made a right hash
of a last ditch saving tackle and brought his opponents down inside the box for
a penalty.
And it was the Belgian who picked himself up to net the spot
kick, and the South West Londoners led this showpiece event at Wembley. It had been a fairly quiet opening to this
one however this moment certainly livened up the crowd, especially in the Blue
end of Wembley.
A fairly defensive half then continued, and it wasn’t until
the latter echelons of the half that another chance arrived, and it was United
who almost levelled when Ashley Young’s cross to the back post saw Jones almost
make up for his error at the other end, however his downward header went wide
of the far post.
It meant this rather defensive forty five minutes ended with
Chelsea having a slender lead at the break, with United needing to do a lot more
if they were to get back into this contest.
Half Time Chelsea 1
Manchester United 0
United, with striker Romelu Lukaku only fit enough
for a place on the bench, did raise their game after the break and saw Marcus
Rashford go close, this after Alexis Sanchez had won the ball back in the danger
zone, however the former’s effort was straight at Thibaut Courtois, as Chelsea
desperately tried to hold onto their slender lead.
And then a moment of history as VAR was used for the first
time in an FA Cup Final, as after a United effort has been saved by Courtois, Sanchez
prodded home the rebound on the slide, and United thought they were level,
however the flag had gone up for offside, and after referee Michael Oliver had
consulted the boys with the replays, he confirmed the United attacker was in an
offside position to upheld his assistant’s decision.
Chelsea, who had been under a lot of second half pressure,
so nearly sealed their victory when they broke two on one and N’Golo Kante’s
ball to Marcus Alonso saw the latter’s effort saved by De Gea to keep United in
the contest, although in the aftermath the ball did appear to strike Young’s
arm inside the box, however this wasn’t seen by referee, VAR or anyone else who
was present and officiating, much to Chelsea’s disgust.
And then came the chance United were craving, and it fell to
Paul Pogba, who had a free header from an Anthony Martial corner, however the United
midfielder sent his downward header way wide of the goal, and you felt at that
moment it wasn’t going to be United’s day.
And that was that, Hazard’s penalty midway through the first
half was enough for the Blues to take the FA Cup honours for 2017-18, and the much-awaited
handshake between Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho ended in a hug between the
two managers. Will this be Conte’s final
hurrah?? We shall see, but this was
certainly Chelsea’s day in the sun at Wembley.
Full Time Chelsea 1
Manchester United 0
Here is the winning team, as captured by Chelsea FC themselves, so many thanks for the image:-
And here are some snaps I took myself of the big day:-
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