May 19, 2018
If this turns out to be Antonio Conte’s final game as Chelsea manager, as all the evidence suggests, at least he has gone out on a high.
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard spot-on to sink Manchester United and win FA Cup
For all the politics at Stamford Bridge, all the discontent and the impression of a manager who knows his time is up, another trophy has been added to the collection. Last year, the Premier League, this season, the FA Cup; only at Chelsea, perhaps, could a manager with that haul now be cut free.
A parting of the ways feels like a fait accompli even though Chelsea have just won the eighth FA Cup of their history, an achievement that moves them level with Tottenham Hotspur in third place on the all-time list.
Conte looked happy for the first time in a long while and, on this evidence, Chelsea surely cannot allow Eden Hazard to contemplate following him.
Hazard’s first-half penalty was the difference between the two sides and the Belgian certainly chose a good day to have one of his better performances of the season.
Chelsea had to withstand some concerted second-half pressure but José Mourinho’s team lacked finesse in the important areas.
In many ways, it has been the story of Manchester United’s season. They have finished without any silverware and this was another occasion when it was obvious, whatever slant Mourinho wants to put on it, that United are still a long way short of being a top team. Or, at least, the team they were in happier times.
The disappointing part was the lack of refinement from the two teams that finished second and fifth in the Premier League, featuring some of the more celebrated players in English football’s top division.
The game hotted up in the second half, but it was a disappointing spectacle at times, lacking any real sophistication and a reminder, perhaps, of why it always had the feel of a papering-over-the-cracks final. United finished 19 points behind Manchester City, with Chelsea 30 adrift of the top, and nobody could have left Wembley thinking that the gulf felt like a deception.
These should be the moments when category-A players such as Paul Pogba and Alexis Sánchez have a clear influence. Instead, it took a long time before United found any cohesion in the attacking positions and Hazard was always the most dangerous player.
His speed and trickery is nothing new but the most impressive part of his performance was his absolute determination that the final should not pass him by. Unfortunately for Mourinho, the same could not be said of some of his front players.
Hazard’s contribution was impressive for the fact he had Ander Herrera in close proximity throughout most of the match. Herrera has been deployed in this role against Hazard before, including one occasion when it led to the United player being show a red card. He stuck to his task diligently, quick over the ground and strong in the tackle, but Hazard’s elusive qualities will always make him a dangerous opponent to track.
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard spot-on to sink Manchester United and win FA Cup
In the 21st minute, he drifted away from his usual position on the left side of Chelsea’s attack to move to the inside-right channel. This time, Herrera left Phil Jones to deal with him and there was already evidence to suggest the United centre-half was having one of his more accident-prone performances. Jones is too often liable to these kind of calamities.
His first mistake was to back off as Cesc Fàbregas curled the ball to his team-mate. Hazard came for the ball, his first touch left Jones stranded, and United were in trouble as soon as the Chelsea player started picking up speed.
Conte was enraged that Jones avoided being sent off for the flailing, desperate challenge that brought down Hazard inside the penalty area. It was a clear penalty and the referee, Michael Oliver, was surrounded by Chelsea players wanting to know why it was not a red card.
Conte still looked incensed even after Hazard had expertly rolled the penalty to David de Gea’s left, but it was correct for Oliver to deem it a booking if he thought Jones had made a legitimate attempt to play the ball. In that case, the regulations state referees ought to show a yellow card, regardless of whether it denies a goalscoring opportunity.
After that, United had little choice but to start playing more adventurously, but it was not until the opening 10 minutes of the second half that they started to pin back their opponents.
The width was provided by their full-backs, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia, and it needed a fine save from Thibaut Courtois to prevent Jones from equalising with a header from Marcus Rashford’s free-kick. Sánchez turned in the rebound, but he had strayed marginally offside in the process and the linesman’s flag cut short the celebrations.
Not long afterwards, Courtois had to dash off his goalline to deny Rashford and that was the point of the match, with 73 minutes gone, when Mourinho brought on Romelu Lukaku as a substitute.
Lukaku had not been deemed fit enough to start because of the ankle injury that has kept him out recently and he struggled to have any real impact.
Antonio Rüdiger, in particular, stood out in Chelsea’s defence. Gary Cahill has rediscovered his best form and, in the closing minutes, when an onslaught might have been expected, Conte’s men were largely untroubled.
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard spot-on to sink Manchester United and win FA Cup

Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.