FA Cup
FA CUP FINAL LIVE : FULL ARTETA BECOMES 18TH MAN TO WIN FA CUP AS A PLAYER AND AS A MANAGER!
90+7min: Pedro won’t be able to see this one out. He has been stretchered off and is being given air. It looked like a horrible shoulder injury, and that’s another cruel blow for Frank Lampard and his coaching staff.
Sead Kolasinac is about to be introduced for Arsenal as they look to kill a few more seconds.
GAME STOPPED MOMENTARILY:
90+6min: Pedro is down and clutching his shoulder. The substitute ran into Sokratis inside the penalty area, and the Arsenal defender was able to shepherd the ball back to Emiliano Martinez.
Chelsea appealed for a foul right on the edge of the box just before then after Nicolas Pepe challenged Pedro, but the referee deemed there was nothing doing.
AUBAMEYANG ANNOUNCED AS MAN OF THE MATCH
90+5min: Two minutes left at Wembley. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been announced as the man of the match over the tannoy.
Emi Martinez saves
It’s fair to say the Arsenal goalkeeper has had a sensational game.
The Argentinian has only had one call-up from his country so far and probably wouldn’t have been playing had Bernd Leno not got injured.
But he’s been all over everything entering the box, especially in the last few minutes.
Injury time
We’re approaching SEVEN minutes of stoppage time.
Arsenal are, shall we say, manipulating the clock.
But Chelsea surely have time to concoct one more opportunity…
89min: Ross Barkley has been booked after challenging Eddie Nketiah right in front of referee Anthony Taylor. Time is running out for Chelsea and, as it stands, they look unlikely to get that leveller
SUBSTITUTION
87min: Sokratis is on in place of the injured David Luiz after a bit of faffing around. He wasn’t immediately prepared to come on, but finally jogged on to the field after a classic piece of time wasting
Post update
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
It’s now or never for Chelsea but they are pinned back into their own territory at the moment.
SUBSTITUTION
82min: Alexandre Lacazette has been replaced by Eddie Nketiah in Arsenal’s first switch of the evening.
81min: VAR scare for Arsenal and their goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez! Tammy Abraham was certain the stopper handled the ball outside his area after a long punt forward, but a check showed that he gathered narrowly on the right side of the line.
SUBSTITUTIONS
79min: Chelsea have made a triple substitution. Ross Barkley, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi have replaced Mason Mount, Olivier Giroud and Antonio Rudiger.
Arsenal are yet to make their first change.
ARTETA MAKES BOOKING HISTORY!
77min: History at the national stadium. Mikel Arteta has become the first manager to be booked in an FA Cup final after a confrontation with Antonio Rudiger. The Chelsea defender was also shown a yellow card as tensions flared.
75min: It really is all kicking off at Wembley! The players took their second drinks break after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s double and Andreas Christensen required treatment after clattering into Hector Bellerin.
The Arsenal full back played a key role in that goal, having hurtled forwards down the field before being tackled. The ball then fell loose to Pepe, and the rest is history.
RED CARD!
73min: Almost the same time Nigeria’s Victor Moses was sent off three years ago in similar fixture, Mateo Kovacic has been sent off! Chelsea are falling apart, but that looked harsh. The midfielder was booked earlier, and was handed his marching orders after tackling Granit Xhaka.
67min: That’s a delightful finish! The Arsenal talisman has done it again, and Mikel Arteta’s men have come from behind at Wembley!
Nicolas Pepe had raced towards the Chelsea penalty area and laid the ball across for the waiting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The frontman jinked beyond Antonio Rudiger and chipped an audacious effort over Willy Caballero and into the far corner. Breathtaking.
GOAL! ARSENAL 2-1 CHELSEA – PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG 67′
Post update
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
62min: Pedro teed up Reece James on the edge of Arsenal’s penalty area, but the wing back blazed high and wide of the target.
Frank Lampard has plenty to ponder over the next five minutes or so. He has just one more opportunity to make a substitute after the two injuries, and can still bring on three more players.
Guy Mowbray makes the good point that while Chelsea have three of their five subs left they can only actually make one more change. They could bring three players one in one go but they can’t stop the game more than once to make any subs, if that makes sense.
58min: The action is flowing from end to end! Arsenal broke away down the right side and attempted to carve out an opening for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Alexandre Lacazette’s pass was slightly behind his strike partner, however, and Andreas Christensen did well to close down the shot.
54min: It’s been very stop-start since the second half got underway. There will be cause for concern for Frank Lampard and Mikel Arteta with both teams playing their way through midfield with ease so far
50min: The substitute Pedro was involved straight away after haring down the left-hand side. His cross was deflected behind for a corner, but Emiliano Martinez rose highest to take a comfortable catch.
18:40
SUBSTITUTION
48min: Christian Pulisic has been replaced by Pedro, who is playing his final game for Chelsea today before joining Roma.
SECOND HALF
46min: Welcome back to Wembley, where the second half is now underway!
Let’s hope for more of the same!
Mikel Arteta was caught on camera delivering one final rallying cry before sending his players back out.
HALF TIME – ARSENAL 1-1 CHELSEA
That was a pulsating half of football! Both teams have gone hell for leather when flooding forward and equally look shaky at the back.
Christian Pulisic chipped Chelsea into an early lead after five minutes following a lovely piece of footwork inside the box.
But Arsenal then did well to haul themselves back level. Cesar Azpilicueta conceded a penalty after hauling down Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and the skipper tucked home from the spot.
After that, it has been all Arsenal and they are unlucky not to be leading! Join us for the second half very soon.
HALF TIME SUMMARY:
Christian Pulisic opened the scoring for Chelsea before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levelled from the penalty spot after the forward was fouled
45+1min: There will be five added minutes at the end of the first half.
SUMMARY SO FAR:
Christian Pulisic opened the scoring for Chelsea in the FA Cup final with a delicate finish following a well-worked move.
Nicolas Pepe thought he had curled in a marvellous equaliser for the Gunners but his celebrations were cut short as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had strayed offside in the build-up.
Just seconds later and Aubameyang was played in over the top, racing clear of Cesar Azpilicueta before being hauled back by the Chelsea skipper.
Referee Anthony Taylor opted to only caution Azpilicueta but the penalty stood following a short VAR check and Aubameyang made no mistake from the spot to draw Arsenal level.
42min: Mikel Arteta’s men are well on top now as we edge towards the break. Nicolas Pepe’s cross was floated towards Ainsley Maitland-Niles at the far post, but a flapping Willy Caballero was able to use his fingertips to divert the ball away for a corner.
Pepe was then afforded space to shoot after Chelsea failed to clear their lines, but his powerful strike was blocked by the substitute Andreas Christensen.
SUBSTITUTION for Chelsea
35min: Cesar Azpilicueta’s race is run. The Chelsea skipper went down with what appeared to be a nasty hamstring injury and has been replaced by Andreas Christensen. Insult to injury for the defender, who looked to be in tears as he limped off.
Goal Arsenal! Aubameyang scores from penalty 30 minutes
GOaAL! ARSENAL 0-1 CHELSEA – CHRISTIAN PULISIC 5′
5min: Wow! Chelsea take the lead! It was a flowing move from Frank Lampard’s men, and Christian Pulisic finished beautifully.
Mason Mount cut a ball across the box for Olivier Giroud after a drive forward from midfield, and the frontman cleverly flicked across to Pulisic.
The American did the rest, cutting beyond the defender and poking home.
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17:36
4min: Chelsea almost struck back immediately. Mason Mount curled an effort towards the far corner from the edge of the box, but Emiliano Martinez flew to his left to palm clear.
Olivier Giroud was fuming with his team-mate and believed he could have been slotted clear on goal instead. Lightning start to this one!
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17:34
3min: The first chance has fallen to Arsenal! Ainsley Maitland-Niles did superbly to wriggle his way into a crossing position from a long punt forward, and his delivery was nodded wide by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
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17:33
2min: Both teams are easing their way into this one. Remember they have matched each other in formation.
Chelsea named an unchanged team for the FA Cup final clash with London rivals Arsenal.
Blues boss Frank Lampard sticks with the side that won 2-0 against Wolves, although Willian was conspicuous in his absence from the matchday squad.
N’Golo Kante is only fit enough for a place on the bench as former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud once again leads the line.
Arsenal, meanwhile, make just one alteration from their 3-2 win over Watford on the closing day of the Premier League season.
Joe Willock drops to the bench as Hector Bellerin returns to a side which had 10 of the starters from the semi-final victory against Manchester City with Rob Holding replacing the injured Shkodran Mustafi.
Follow all the action, as it happens, below.
Arsenal XI: Martinez, Holding, David Luiz, Tierney, Bellerin, Xhaka, Ceballos, Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang (c)
Subs: Macey, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Torreira, Smith, Willock, Nelson, Saka, Nketiah
Chelsea XI: Caballero, James, Azpilicueta (c), Zouma, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount, Giroud, Pulisic
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Tomori, Emerson, Kante, Barkley, Hudson-Odoi, Pedro, Abraham
Manchester City F.C. completed a domestic cup double on Saturday after a late strike from Antoine Semenyo secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chelsea F.C. in the FA Cup Final.
The decisive moment arrived in the 72nd minute when the Ghana international produced a clever finish from close range, turning sharply before back-heeling the ball beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez after an inviting cross from Erling Haaland.
Semenyo’s goal transformed what had been a tense and cautious contest into an entertaining finale as both sides pushed aggressively in search of goals during the closing stages.
City nearly doubled their advantage when Rayan Cherki forced an excellent save from Sánchez, while Matheus Nunes struck the post as Pep Guardiola’s side intensified the pressure.
Chelsea also searched desperately for an equaliser but were unable to break through City’s disciplined defence.
The triumph handed Manchester City their eighth FA Cup title and completed an impressive domestic cup double following their League Cup success earlier in March.
For Semenyo, the winning goal marked one of the biggest moments of his career, with the forward delivering when it mattered most on English football’s grandest domestic stage.
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Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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