FA Cup
GOAL SCORING SENSATION, IHEANACHO AND NDIDI SET FOR FA CUP GLORY
Super Eagles duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi look set to join legion of Nigerian football star players to have won the prestigious English FA Cup when Leicester City play FC Chelsea in the final of the competition on Saturday at the Wembley Stadium in London.
On record, Daniel Amokachi, Nwankwo Kanu and Mikel Obi are former Super Eagles players that have won the cup before in with Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea respectively and history beacons on Nigeria duo to do same with Leicester.
Team’s Manager, Brendan Rodgers, on Thursday said his players can “create an incredible legacy” if they become the first Leicester side to win the FA Cup on Saturday after four previous defeats in the final.
Leicester face Champions League finalists Chelsea in English football’s premier cup competition – the first time the Foxes have reached the showpiece occasion since 1969.
Several players, including talisman Jamie Vardy, remain from the team that produced one of the biggest shocks in English football history by winning the Premier League in 2016.
But many of the current crop were not in that side and Rodgers said they now had the possibility of making their own slice of history for the Thai-owned club.
A crowd of 21 000 will be at Wembley, with Chelsea and Leicester allocated 6 250 tickets each as part of a pilot to test the return of big crowds to venues during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have earned the right to be in the final and we will arrive with an opportunity to make our own history,” Rodgers said yesterday.
“We have watched it (the cup final) all through our lives. To be able to lead Leicester out for the first time in 50-odd years will be a real privilege for me.
“These weeks you always have to stay calm. This is a game where you can create an incredible legacy, you write your own stories in these games.”
Rodgers, whose side is also on track to qualify for next season’s Champions League, is hoping experienced central defender Jonny Evans will be fit to face Chelsea after missing two games with a heel injury.
“We’re giving him another day,” said Rodgers. “He has progressed really well in the last 24 hours. He looked very good and we’ll see what the reaction is after that and make the final decision tomorrow (Friday).
“It’s just a discussion between myself and Jonny. You always have to speak to the players and Jonny is a warrior.
“If there is any way he can play – even if he is not 100 per cent – he will be out there.”
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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