Second-half goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount saw Chelsea defeat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Wembley Stadium to advance to 2021-22 FA Cup Final.
A scrappy opening hour saw both teams struggle to carve out quality chances until substitute, Ruben Loftus-Cheek fired in a 65th minute opener from Kai Havertz’s pullback pass to deliver his first goal in a Chelsea shirt since May 2019.
Mason Mount doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 76th minute with a clinical strike to wrap up victory and set up a third consecutive FA Cup Final appearance.
Chelsea will now meet Liverpool in the 2021-22 FA Cup Final on Saturday 14 May, which will be their second meeting at Wembley Stadium this season after Thomas Tuchel’s Blues lost the Carabao Cup Final following a dramatic penalty shootout in February.
Chelsea made three changes to the team who started their midweek Champions League exit at Real Madrid as Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were all dropped, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christiansen and Jorginho all added to the line-up instead.
Palace meanwhile have made four changes with Vicente Guaita, Nathaniel Clyne and Jordan Ayew all dropping to the bench, whilst Conor Gallagher is ineligible to face his parent club as Jack Butland, Joel Ward, James McArthur and Eberechi Eze all came into the starting line-up.
Those changes were reflective of a scrappy start which saw neither team produce any real chance until Jean-Philippe Mateta broke forward in the seventh minute from Wilfried Zaha’s through ball, only for Reece James to flick the ball out of his reach towards goal.
Mason Mount and Timo Werner then wasted chances in quick succession for Chelsea who soon began to get on top, with Kai Havertz the next to go close as his looping 25th minute header from Antonio Ruidger’s direct overhead cross was saved by Jack Butland.
Azpilicueta then fired Werner’s pullback cross from the left flank wide of goal in the 30th minute,.
Palace soon afterwards missed a glorious chance to take the lead in the 36th minute as a free-kick from the left flank was cleared to Cheikhou Kouyate who rifled upon goal, only for Edouard Mendy to block the ball to Joachim Andersen, who could only hit his follow-up effort onto the woodwork.
Havertz two minutes later was denied a penalty after he was clipped by ex Chelsea defender, Marc Guehi as he raced into the box, only for referee – Anthony Taylor to book the German for diving whilst he ignored penalty appeals from surrounding Chelsea players.
Palace eventually managed to cling on to half-time without conceding after Chelsea were limited to no proper chances on the attack.
After the break, Chelsea increased their attacking intensity which led to Mount firing wide in the 49th minute, only for Palace to quickly raise their game as Kouyate headed wide twice in the space of seven minutes from a free-kick and corner respectively.
Chelsea eventually broke the deadlock in the 65th minute as a series of quick passing moves down the right eventually found Havertz, who decided to pull back to substitute – Loftus-Cheek who smashed a thunderous strike in via a deflection to end his near three-year goal drought for the Blues.
Palace responded by bringing on Michael Olise and Christian Benteke in the 73rd minute but just three minutes later, Werner teed up Mount to break forward and the England international calmly fired in beyond Butland to double Chelsea’s lead.
Rather than settle for a two-goal victory, Chelsea continued to push for a larger victory but substitute, Hakim Ziyech wasted two late chances as the Blues eventually cruised to victory and a third straight FA Cup Final.
Chelsea and Crystal Palace will next be in action on Wednesday 20 April in the Premier League as Thomas Tuchel’s Blues host Arsenal whilst Palace visit Newcastle United with both matches kicking off at 7:45pm BST.
Speaking post-match to ITV Sport, Tuchel admitted that this win was “not always easy” after playing three matches in three different competitions across the last eight days, on top of being the team to have played the most minutes in total across Europe this season.
Tuchel also explained that he thought Loftus-Cheek deserved a start but he had expected to face a four-man Palace defence, hence his decision to name the midfielder as a substitute but believes that his goal serves as a mental boost “step by step” in improving his confidence.
Reflecting on how Chelsea handled Palace’s tactical alterations throughout the match, Tuchel added: “I thought the performance was very controlled and very serious, we took care of their counterattacks. It was hard, the opponent changed system twice, you cannot lose focus for a minute.”
Tuchel also admitted that he is “happy” to face Liverpool in the Final as his Blues look to chase revenge for their dramatic Carabao Cup Final defeat in February, in which they lost 11-10 in a dramatic penalty shootout after a goalless draw.
Teams
Chelsea: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christiansen (Silva 82′), Antonio Rudiger, Reece James, Jorginho (Kante 77′), Mateo Kovacic (Loftus-Cheek 26′), Marcos Alonso, Mason Mount (Ziyech 77′), Kai Havertz (Lukaku 77′), Timo Werner
Substitutes: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Romelu Lukaku
Crystal Palace: Jack Butland, Joel Ward, Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Tyrick Mitchell, Cheikhou Kouyate (Milivojevic 85′), James McArthur (Olise 72′), Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze, Jeffrey Schlupp (Benteke 72′), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Ayew 55′)
Substitutes: Vicente Guaita, Nathaniel Clyne, Martin Kelly, James Tomkins, Luka Milivojevic, Michael Olise, Jordan Ayew, Odsonne Edouard, Christian Benteke
Referee – Anthony Taylor
Man of the Match – Timo Werner (Chelsea)
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