Youri Tielemans blasted Leicester to a maiden FA Cup title as Brendan Rogers’ Foxes defeated Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.
A tight first half saw both teams have various chances with Chelsea often dominating the game.
Youri Tielemans however produced the match’s defining moment when Ayoze Perez intercepted Reece James’ pass with a block, finding Luke Thomas who teed up the Belgian to rifle a 63rd minute winner into the top left corner.
Chilwell and Mount saw late equalising shots denied by stunning saves from Kasper Schmeichel, before the former saw his 89th minute cross deflected in Wes Morgan.
VAR however adjudged the Chelsea winger offside as Leicester clung on to clinch their first-ever FA Cup title, 59 years after their last appearance in the Final.
Chelsea made a bright start with Timo Werner attempting a tightly angled shot across towards bottom left corner, only for Kasper Schmeichel to save his effort and again just one minute later.
Leicester proceeded to immediately charge up the left with Jamie Vardy crossing towards the top right corner, only for Kepa Arrizabalaga to gather the ball before Kelechi Iheanacho could connect with the pass.
Chelsea soon afterwards began to get on top but Timothy Castagne picked up a 16th minute long ball on the break, finding Vardy who unleashed a curled shot only for Reece James to block and clear the attempt.
Caglar Soyuncu then went close four minutes later for Leicester, heading wide from Youri Tielemans’ free-kick after Thiago Silva flicked Iheanacho’s flick-on onto his left hand to concede a handball.
Marcos Alonso and Mason Mount saw 23rd minute shots deflected as Chelsea quickly began to reassert their authority before Werner blasted over from 30 yards out.
Alonso produced the best chance of the first half as he collected a return cross from a cleared corner, opting to curl towards the right corner for Cesar Azpilicueta to nod in but Werner got a touch which diverted the ball wide beyond the Spanish defender’s reach.
Jonny Evans saw his fourth Wembley appearance of his career come to an early end when he suffered a recurrence of his heel injury, which ultimately forced him off the pitch with Marc Albrighton replacing him in the 33rd minute.
Chelsea soon afterwards began to push for a late first half lead as Werner saw three shots denied, whilst Soyuncu and Vardy saw headers fly wide of goal as both teams entered the break goalless.
After half-time, Alonso was the first player to carve out a proper chance as he headed Jorginho’s cross on goal, only for his effort to be straight at Schmeichel who safely gathered the shot.
Azpilicueta then saw a curled attempt saved in the 62nd minute, as Leicester launched an attack, which led to Ayoze Perez blocking James’ pass for Luke Thomas to collect and tee up Tielemans who composed his rifled shot into the top left corner.
Ziyech fired over two minutes later as Chelsea set about chasing an equaliser as they set about pushing their way back into the game.
Schmeichel however was alert to deny Chilwell’s header before punching Mount’s powerful shot wide of the bottom right corner with a last-gasp left hand save.
Chelsea looked to had eventually forced extra time when Ben Chilwell’s cross was deflected in by Wes Morgan, only for the ex Leicester left-back to be adjudged offside by VAR.
Leicester eventually clung on to record their first-ever FA Cup title after losing all four previous appearances in this showpiece Final, as Vardy became the first player to have appeared in every round of FA Cup throughout his career and win the trophy.
What Next?
Chelsea and Leicester will meet again on Tuesday evening (8:15pm) but at Stamford Bridge in a crunch Premier League clash, as both teams look to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Should Liverpool lose tomorrow to West Brom and then fail to win at Burnley on Wednesday evening, a draw would see both Chelsea and Leicester seal top four finishes.
Teams
Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Cesar Azpilicueta (Hudson-Odoi 76′), Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho (Havertz 75′), Marcos Alonso (Chilwell 68′), Hakim Ziyech (Pulisic 68′), Mason Mount, Timo Werner (Giroud 82′)
Subs: Christian Pulisic, Kurt Zouma, Edouard Mendy (GK), Olivier Giroud, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ben Chilwell, Billy Gilmour, Kai Havertz, Emerson
Leicester (3-4-1-2): Kasper Schmeichel (GK), Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans (Albrighton 33′), Caglar Soyuncu, Timothy Castagne, Youri Tielemans, Wilfred Ndidi, Luke Thomas (Morgan 82′), Ayoze Perez (Choudhury 82′), Kelechi Iheanacho (Maddison 67′), Jamie Vardy
Subs: Wes Morgan, James Maddison, Marc Albrighton, Danny Ward (GK), Daniel Amartey, Hamza Choudhury, Ricardo Pereira, Nampalys Mendy, Dennis Praet
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