Chelsea are through to the FA Cup final after defeating Tottenham in a six-goal thriller.
Chelsea took the lead early in the first-half through their reigning Player of The Year Willian. The Brazilian stepped up to take a free-kick on the edge of the box, and expertly bent it around the wall and into the back of Hugo Lloris’ net. Nine of Willian’s last 20 goals have come from free-kicks. You can see the Blues’ opener here.
Tottenham swiftly equalised through Harry Kane. Kane beat the helpless Thibaut Courtois with a brilliantly improvised header. It didn’t appear possible for Kane to score from this position, but the form he has been in this campaign, anything is possible. Click here to see Kane’s equaliser.
Just before the half-time break, Willian restored Chelsea’s advantage. Victor Moses raced down the right-hand-side and was taken out by Heung-Min Son. The referee pointed to the penalty spot. Willian stepped up and made no mistake from 12-yards. You can see Willian’s second here.
Spurs were not prepared to lay down and see their FA Cup dreams crushed by their arch-rivals, and drew level once again through Dele Alli. Christian Eriksen provided arguably the assist of the season from the left-hand-side, and Alli found the back of the net for the 20th time this season with a great finish. Click here to see Alli’s goal.
Eden Hazard was introduced, and the Belgian made an immediate impact. Hazard fired home from the edge of the box with his left foot to put Chelsea within touching distance of the FA Cup final. To see the Chelsea talisman’s goal, click here.
Chelsea saved the best til last, and it was Nemanja Matic who provided it. Hazard laid the ball back into the path of Matic, and he produced something very special. The Serb fired into the top corner with an absolutely thunderous strike. He’ll never hit a ball as well as that again. It’s well worth a watch, click here to see it.
That proved to be enough to take Chelsea over the line, and they booked their place in the FA Cup final. For Tottenham, however, it’s the same old story. Here are our player ratings for both sides:
Chelsea player ratings: Courtois 5, Azpilicueta 8, David Luiz 10, Ake 9, Moses 9, Matic 7, Kante 7, Alonso 4, Pedro 5, Willian 9, Batshuayi 4. (Subs: Hazard 9, Diego Costa 6, Fabregas 6)
Tottenham player ratings: Lloris 4, Alderweireld 6, Dier 5, Vertonghen 7, Trippier 7, Dembele 8, Wanyama 8, Son 2, Eriksen 9, Alli 8, Kane 8. (Subs: Walker 7, Nkoudou 5)