Match Report: Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 to reach FA Cup final

The Blues quest for silverware on two fronts continues as the Blues booked an FA Cup final date in May by emerging victorious in a game of six goals at Wembley.

Willian struck twice in the first half from a free-kick and a penalty but saw both goals cancelled out courtesy of Harry Kane and Dele Alli either side of the interval. With the scores level going into the final 15 minutes, our impact from the bench made the difference, Cesc Fabregas’s corner finding Eden Hazard and Hazard finding the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Nemanja Matic then fired into the top corner from distance to give us breathing space and ensure our return to north London for the final next month.

Antonio Conte made five changes to the side that lined up at Old Trafford last weekend. Thibaut Courtois returned in goal having recovered from an ankle injury while Nathan Ake made his third FA Cup start of the season in place of Gary Cahill, who missed out with illness.

Ake lined up alongside David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta, the latter wearing the captain’s armband for the first time and leading the Blues out at Wembley. Michy Batshuayi and Willian replaced Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, who started on the bench.

Players, staff and supporters from both sides joined for a minute’s applause before the action got underway to mark the sad and sudden passing of Ugo Ehiogu this week, the former Tottenham defender who had returned to the club and was coaching their Under-23 team. Both teams also wore black armbands as a mark of respect.

Mauricio Pocchetino matched our 3-4-3 despite being without both his first-choice wing-backs, Heung-Min Son starting on the left and Kieran Trippier on the right. Yet it was through the middle the Blues exploited in the opening exchanges on to strike an early semi-final goal. The action had burst into life right from the start with Tottenham threatening from a corner but it was Hugo Lloris, not Courtois, retrieving the ball from the back of his net with just four minutes played.

Pedro had instigated the danger with a run from midfield which was only halted by the flailing leg of Toby Alderweireld, the Belgian defender having gone to ground early. It was a presentable sight at goal for Willian just a couple of yards outside the box and the Brazilian’s curling effort arrowed beyond the desperate dive of Lloris for the opener.

From the stands and the skies there was acclaim for Conte’s side, the Chelsea fans in full voice and a plane overhead trailing the name of their manager. Kante advanced into the box but delayed a delivery and Batshuayi was quickly closed down before Spurs started to build up a head of steam down the other end.

A quick set-piece looked to have found Kane in space in the 18-yard box but Kante was typically alert to spot the danger and block the England striker’s effort at goal. However, Tottenham’s number nine soon had himself on the scoresheet as Pochettino’s side levelled after 18 minutes. Eriksen’s corner was initially headed clear by Ake but the Dane’s second attempt from the right was more accurate, inswinging to the near post for the stooping Kane to flick a header across goal and into the far corner.

First and second in the Premier League, these two sides had shared five goals in two meetings this season and this was proving to be another entertaining and open contest. David Luiz required treatment midway through the first half after a coming together with Alli but quickly picked himself up and was soon spraying a fantastic pass forward for Victor Moses to chase, the wing-back’s low cross cut out by Jan Vertonghen.

Azpilicueta was then forced into some penalty box defending of his own as Kane ran at him with the ball at his feet but our Spanish skipper watched carefully before making a well-timed challenge. Set-pieces were proving a regular threat for Spurs and Kante again thwarted Eriksen’s delivery, while Ake snuffed out the danger as Kane promisingly brought down Tripper’s long pass forward with a clever touch.

Courtois gathered Eriksen’s drive from 25 yards out after some loose play in possession at the back but we re-established our advantage at a crucial time, making it 2-1 just before the break. It was another set-piece maximised to the fullest extent by Willian, this time a penalty from 12 yards after referee Martin Atkinson had pointed to the spot on the advice of his assistant.

Son was the man penalised, the South Korean committing early to a sliding challenge on Moses, who was felled. Willian stepped up and staggered his run before firing right-footed to Lloris’s right for his second goal of the afternoon and his 10th of the season.