toptop
Late
strikes by Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic fired Chelsea into the FA Cup final
over Tottenham in a thrilling 4-2 win at Wembley.
Second-half substitute Hazard smashed home from just inside the box on 75
minutes before Matic's stunning hit sealed victory over their Premier League
title rivals.
Willian, who replaced Hazard in a number of surprising changes by Antonio Conte,
twice put the Blues ahead - the first a free-kick and the second a well-taken
penalty that ensured they led at the interval.
Spurs dominated possession and were dragged back first by Harry Kane's skilful
header and then by Dele Alli's close range effort in the second half.
Both teams paid tribute to Ugo Ehiogu before kick off with a minute's applause
following the tragic passing of the Spurs U23 head coach on Friday.
Conte and Mauricio Pochettino made eight changes between them as Diego Costa
dropped to the bench for Chelsea and Heung-min Son started at left wing-back for
Spurs.
The Chelsea boss set his team up to counter and they did to perfection to open
the scoring, generating a swift move started by Nathan Ake, who replaced the
sick Gary Cahill.
Pedro burst through and looked destined to score but was hauled down by Toby
Alderweireld in a glorious shooting position. Willian made no mistake with the
set-piece, whipping the ball over the wall and past Lloris via a slight
deflection.
Spurs immediately hit back as Christian Eriksen picked out Kane and the forward
flicked home the equaliser beyond Thibault Courtois.
Tottenham kept up the pressure and went close with a header from Eric Dier and a
curling shot from Eriksen, but they were caught out at the back once again as
Son - forced to play an unfamiliar role in place of Ben Davies - fouled Victor
Moses in the box.
Willian stepped up and sent Lloris to wrong way to bag his second in a fervent
display by the Brazilian.
Pochettinos's side dominated the second half as they did the first, and
equalised again when Alli met Eriksen's brilliant cross.
Alli had a penalty shout turned down but Tottenham's Wembley heartache at the
hands of Chelsea - who beat in their previous FA Cup semi-final appearance in
2012 and the League Cup final in 2014 - was about to continue.
Hazard and Costa were introduced and were both nuisances as Chelsea won a
corner, which was cleared straight to Hazard, who thrashed into the far corner
from 18 yards.
And, as Spurs committed bodies forward, Matic was afforded too much space on the
edge of the box, allowing him to blast in Chelsea's fourth via the crossbar.
The Blues will contest their 12th FA Cup final against either Arsenal or
Manchester City, who play on Sunday.
Player ratings
Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois (6); Azpilicueta (6), David Luiz (7),
Ake (7); Moses (7), Kante (7), Matic (7), Alonso (7); Willian (8), Batshuayi
(6), Pedro (6)
Subs used: Fabregas (6), Hazard (8), Costa (7)
Tottenham (3-4-3): Lloris (6); Dier (7), Alderweireld (6),
Vertonghen (7); Trippier (7), Wanyama (7), Dembele (7), Son (6); Eriksen (7),
Kane (7), Alli (8)
Subs used: Walker (6), N'Koudou (6)
Man of the Match: Willian
Teams
Chelsea Courtois, Azpilicueta (c), Luiz, Ake, Moses, Kante,
Matic, Alonso, Willian (Hazard 61), Batshuayi (Costa 61), Pedro (Fabregas 74)
Subs Not Used Begovic, Zouma, Terry, Chalobah
Booked Alonso, Kante
Goals Willian 5, 43 (pen), Hazard 75, Matic 80
Tottenham Hotspur Lloris (c), Trippier, Dier, Alderweireld,
Vertonghen, Wanyama (N’Koudou 80), Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Son (Walker 68),
Kane,
Subs Not Used Lopez, Janssen, Sissoko, Wimmer, Davies
Booked Alderweireld, Alli73
Goals Kane 18, Alli 52
Attendance 86,355
Referee Martin Atkinson