Nemanja
Matic's stunning strike put the seal on Chelsea's 4-2 FA Cup semi-final
win over Premier League title rivals Tottenham as Antonio Conte's side
kept their double dream alive.
It
was a ruthlessly efficient display of finishing from the Blues at
Wembley, which has been the scene of nothing but misery for Spurs this
season, having faltered under the arch in their failed Champions
and Europa League campaigns.
Conte – whose
name adorned a banner trailing a light aircraft flown over the stadium –
sprung a surprise when he left Eden Hazard and Diego Costa on the
bench, but Willian made the most of his inclusion with a fourth-minute
free-kick and a penalty on the stroke of half-time.
Spurs
had twice fought back with Harry Kane's stooping flicked header from
Christian Eriksen's pinpoint delivery, the Dane then teeing up Dele Alli
to make it 2-2 in the 52nd minute.
It
was Mauricio Pochettino's side who were forcing the issue and looking
the more likely to win it, but Conte called on Hazard and Costa from the
bench, with the Belgium international's low strike putting Chelsea
ahead once more inside the final 15 minutes.
The
Blues saved the best until last, Matic's thunderous drive bouncing in
off the crossbar to put Chelsea into the final and strike a
psychological blow in the top-flight title race, Conte's men four points
clear of Spurs with six games left.
There
was a tribute paid to Ugo Ehiogu before the match after the Spurs
Under-23 coach passed away having suffered a cardiac arrest.
Toby
Alderweireld was booked early on for a foul on Pedro and Willian
stepped up to send the set-piece beyond Hugo Lloris from 20 yards.
Spurs
initially struggled to respond, but N'Golo Kante had to be alert to
block Kane's shot after the striker collected Eriksen's threaded
free-kick.
It
was the same Spurs combination that unpicked the lock in the 18th
minute, Eriksen's inswinging cross deftly headed into the far corner by
Kane.
Pochettino's
side were much the more threatening after that, with Kane forging ahead
again before Cesar Azpilicueta halted his run in the box.
Eric
Dier came much closer to putting the White Hart Lane club ahead as he
leapt to meet Jan Vertonghen's cross, but the England midfielder saw his
header drift narrowly wide.
The
lively Eriksen tested Thibaut Courtois' handling – which proved sound –
as he tried his luck from 25 yards five minutes before the interval.
But
there was a sucker punch in store for the Spurs, Son
Heung-min – playing out of position at left wing-back – bringing down
Victor Moses and Willian coolly converting the spot-kick, while Lloris
got away with handling the ball outside of his area in one final moment
of drama before half-time.
A
captivating last-four clash continued to deliver as Alli – who scored
both goals when Spurs beat Chelsea 2-0 in January's Premier League match
– made it 2-2 seven minutes after the restart, poking Eriksen's superb
cross past Courtois.
Conte
called upon Costa and Hazard on the hour mark, with Willian and Michy
Batshuayi making way, while Son soon departed for Kyle Walker after an
underwhelming outing for the South Korean.
It
was Hazard who made the biggest impact, though, Chelsea's first
second-half shot on target flying into Lloris' bottom-left corner after
Spurs failed to properly clear a corner.
The
French goalkeeper was then a spectator for Matic's rasping strike as
Chelsea booked a final spot against either Manchester City or Arsenal,
who meet on Sunday, while Spurs – who saw Kane's free-kick stopped on
the line by Courtois – were left to reflect on a defeat for the seventh
FA Cup semi-final in a row.
No comments: