FA Cup
Chelsea stroll past Middlesbrough into FA Cup semis
Chelsea continued to make light of their off-pitch turmoil with another impressive display on it as they reached the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday.
First-half goals by Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech knocked the stuffing out of second-tier Middlesbrough who had eliminated Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in previous rounds.
Lukaku tapped in Mason Mount’s low cross after 15 minutes before Ziyech fired home 16 minutes later.
Middlesbrough were given raucous support inside the Riverside Stadium but never really looked capable of troubling the visitors who were always in control.
Chelsea, the object of several buyout bids, are operating under a special licence from the British government after Russian owner Roman Abramovich was hit with sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Only a few hundred Chelsea fans were inside the stadium – a consequence of restrictions on them selling tickets – but they could at least celebrate their team reaching the semis for the fifth time in six seasons.
Since Abramovich announced that he was putting the European champions up for sale on March 2 after 19 trophy-laden years, it has been very much business as usual on the pitch.
They have won all six fixtures since, the latest win coming the day after a deadline for bids to buy the club.
Despite the distractions, manager Thomas Tuchel has remained focused on winning games, and the performance of his players on Saturday was clinical.
“We were very focused and very serious. We showed the quality at decisive moments,” the German said.
“The effort was huge and we never let them get a foot into the door after the two early goals. It was a deserved win.”
“Nothing we can do will change the situation and we accept that it’s not in our hands, but what is in our hands is setting an example and staying focused.”
Chelsea had attracted criticism in midweek for asking for the match to be played without fans to ensure “sporting integrity” in light of them not being able to sell tickets.
They later retracted that request and the Riverside was rocking before kickoff.
But when Mount was allowed to advance down the left and then delivered a slide rule cross to allow Lukaku to tap home, the odds always looked stacked against Boro.
When Ziyech’s shot then flew past Middlesbrough keeper Joe Lumley the hosts had a mountain to climb.
Chelsea could have added to their lead with Lukaku denied by a goalline clearance and Lumley doing well to keep out Timo Werner’s late effort, while Boro rarely had a sniff of a chance.
It was Boro’s first home defeat in 10 games in all competitions, and their focus will now return to trying to make the promotion play-offs.
For Chelsea, they are still chasing silverware on two fronts after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek.
“We really have that winning mentality within the group. Any competition, any game, we want to win, and we want to keep that going,” Mount said. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks but for us, as a team, we’re just focused and ready to play.”
-Reuters
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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