toptop
Romelu
Lukaku came back to haunt his former club with a double that saw Everton book
their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win against Chelsea.
A game of few chances burst into life when Lukaku produced a moment of magic to
break the deadlock 13 minutes from time before sealing Everton's place at
Wembley five minutes later with a low finish past Thibaut Courtois.
In a dramatic finale, frustrations boiled over for Chelsea and Diego Costa in
particular as the striker was shown a first red card of his Chelsea career after
picking up a second yellow card in the 84th minute for a clash with Garth Barry.
The Spain international pushed his face into Barry's neck and motioned as if to
bite, but appeared to withdraw at the last moment and then embraced his
opponent, who offered little in the way of reaction.
Barry received his own marching orders in the 87th minute after picking up a
second yellow card but the job was done for Everton, who join Crystal Palace in
the semi-finals.
Defeat at Goodison Park completes a miserable week for Guus Hiddink's side as
they followed up a Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain by
crashing out of the FA Cup therefore ending their chances of silverware this
season.
Everton, who were watched for the first time by new majority shareholder Farhad
Moshiri, made two changes from the side that lost 3-2 to West Ham last Saturday
with Leighton Baines replacing John Stones and Tom Cleverley starting in place
of the suspended Kevin Mirallas.
And it was Cleverley who got straight into the action with an attempt from the
edge of the penalty area, forcing Thibaut Courtois into a comfortable save after
just 44 seconds.
Costa, who limped out of Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to PSG in midweek, showed no signs
of any injury, charging into Barry to earn himself a yellow card.
Goal-mouth action was hard to come by in the opening 20 minutes but there were
tackles aplenty, leaving referee Michael Oliver with his hands full in what was
a physical encounter.
Unsurprisingly, Costa was at the heart of the battle, appealing for a penalty
after going to ground after a coming together with Phil Jagielka, but Oliver
allowed play to continue.
Jagielka himself was cautioned in the 42nd minute after a wild challenge on Cesc
Fabregas and it allowed Willian a strike on goal, but Joel Robles tipped the
free-kick over the bar.
Everton finished with a flourish of their own as Baines' cut-back found
Cleverley, but the midfielder's first-time shot was easily held by Courtois.
Costa came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 58th minute but after beating
the challenges of both Funes Mori and Robles, his shot from the tightest of
angles rolled along the goal line and past the far post.
Chelsea needed goalkeeper Courtois to keep out Lukaku in the 73rd minute but
there was nothing he could do to deny his compatriot five minutes later.
The 22-year-old, who was deemed surplus to requirements and sold to Everton by
former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, picked up the ball on the left before
powering past the challenges of Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta. He
continued his run into the box, holding off the challenges of John Obi Mikel and
Gary Cahill before finishing in the far corner for his 25th goal of the
campaign.
Lukaku did not have to wait long for number 26 as he latched onto Barkley's
through ball before clinically finishing in the oppositie corner to inflict a
first FA Cup defeat on Hiddink, and send his side into the last four.
The game was up for Chelsea, who sent on John Terry for his 700th appearance for
the club, but there was still time for some more antics from Costa as his clash
resulted in a second yellow card followed by a red.
Barry, booked moments earlier for his part in the Costa incident, was next to
see red, picking up his own second yellow for a late challenge on Cesc Fabregas,
but the decision could not dampen Everton's celebrations at the final whistle as
they kept their own silverware hopes alive and ended Chelsea's in the process.
Teams
Everton Joel, Coleman, Jagielka (c), Funes Mon, Baines,
McCarthy, Barry, Lennon (Stones 88), Barkley (Besic 90+2), Cleverley, Lukaku
(Niasse 90+4)
Subs Not Used Howard, Kone, Deulofeu, Osman
Booked Jagielka, Barry
Sent Off Barry (two yellow cards)
Goals Lukaku 77, 82
Chelsea Courtois, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic (c), Kenedy
(Terry 85), Mikel, Matic (Remy 82), Willian (Oscar 73), Fabregas, Pedro, Costa
Subs Not Used Begovic, Baba, Traore, Loftus-Cheek
Booked Costa, Fabregas
Sent Off Costa (two yellow cards)
Goals
Attendance 37,283
Referee Michael Oliver