Chelsea beat Southampton at Wembley on 22nd April 2-0 to qualify for the FA Cup final where they will meet Manchester United.
Earlier, on 21st April, Manchester United came back from a 1-0 deficit at Wembley to beat Tottenham Hotspurs 2-1. Dele Alli helped Spurs take the lead thanks to a fantastic cross by Christian Eriksen. Both teams began with strong teams and a high octane. United equalized quickly although, as Pogba out muscled Dembele to lay in a perfect cross for Alex Sanchez who rose above the Spurs defense to head in the equalizer.
United lost tempo earlier on but gained momentum eventually. The trademark Mourinho ‘bus parking’ went missing, as it did in the previous matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City as United attacked on all fronts. In the second half, United scored their second goal thanks to Ander Herrera who capitalized on a clever leave by Jesse Lingard. United defended well in the second half to fend off the attack by Spurs and ensured a return to the Wembley on May 19.
A day later, Chelsea beat Southampton, who find themselves in the relegation zone in the Premier League. Antonio Conte’s side goes into the FA Cup final for the second consecutive time. January entrant Olivier Giroud scored a brilliant goal as he dribbled past the Southampton defense to give them a lead early in the second half. Southampton never gained ground as Chelsea were looking to capitalize on their lead. Alvaro Morata scored eventually towards the end of the game and made it 2-0 as Chelsea sealed their ticket for the finals.
Although Conte finds his future in a bit of a doubt thanks to their meltdown in the league, this Cup journey seems to be a positive one and could possibly end on a good note, i.e., if it does end.
