A first half penalty from Eden Hazard saw Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening in the FA Cup final, writes DEAN WORKMAN.
Both sides came into the game knowing that a victory would see them lift the FA Cup and would go a long way to pleasing their fans after a largely underwhelming season.
The game got off to a slow start with the pressure of playing in a final clearly weighing on the mind of both sets of players.
The first chance of the game fell to the Blues. With just nine minutes played Hazard broke down the left flank and drove into the box to fire a shot at the near post but was denied by the feet of David de Gea.
Antonio Conte’s men were then given a glorious chance to open the scoring when they were awarded a penalty after 21 minutes. Hazard was sent through on goal and just as he was about to take a strike he was brought down by the diving Phil Jones. Hazard picked himself up and slotted the penalty past De Gea.
United then pressed forward in search of an equaliser while Chelsea were happy to sit deep, keep their shape and look to hit United on the counter.
The Blues restricted the amount of chances for the remainder of the first half. 1-0 at the half time break with the game still firmly in the balance.
Jose Mourinho’s team came out in the second half knowing they needed a big performance.
With 63 minutes gone United thought they had got the leveller. Marcus Rashford whipped in a cross which was met by Jones, the defender’s header was save by Thibaut Courtois but fell to the feet of Alexis Sanchez. The winger put his shot in the back of the net only to see the linesman raise his flag, ruling the goal out for offside.
Marcos Alonso then came close to doubling the lead with 70 minutes gone. N’Golo Kante drove into the box and laid the ball off to Alonso, the Spaniard unleashed a shot but was denied by his countryman De Gea.
United continued to press forward and both Rashford and Paul Pogba had opportunities, but they could not convert them.
Conte’s men managed to hold on to secure the victory, winning the FA Cup in the process.
