David De Gea made a few big errors to help Chelsea book their place in the FA Cup final on the 1st of August.
The first half at Wembley looked to be ending as a stalemate, but all of that changed right at the end of normal time. There was a nasty clash of heads between Maguire and Eric Bailly, and Bailly ended up in a very bad state. He had stood up after being on the turf, and looked to be walking off without help. However, when he reached the touchline, he lay down again, and then received a lot of treatment, before being stretchered off late into injury time. I truly hope his injury was not as bad as it appeared, and wish him a speedy recovery.
Bailly was substituted for Martial, and this left them with one centre-back less than they had had for the rest of the half. This paved the way for Chelsea to go in front. In the 56′ minute of the first half(!), César Azpilicueta was able to get free of Brandon Williams, and Olivier Giroud was able to get in front of the defenders and divert the cross towards goal. However, the shot was straight at De Gea, and he must have been very disappointed as he turned to see the ball trickling over the line.
And then right at the start of the second period, De Gea made yet another mistake. A poor pass from Williams was pounced on by Mason Mount, and he was able to take it forward and hit a strike from outside the box. But it was a saveable shot, one which almost any keeper, De Gea included, would be able to land on with comfort ninety-nine times out of one hundred. Yet it wasn’t saved today, and the ball yet again found itself in the back of the united goalkeeper’s net.
Chelsea weren’t finished there. In the 74′ minute, Alonso was given far too much space on the left flank, and he was free to cross into the box, where Maguire tried to keep Rüdiger from netting a third, but ended up unwittingly putting it past De Gea himself. Another shot at the Spaniard’s near post which he was unable to save.
United managed to get on the scoresheet late on, as Hudson-Odoi fouled Martial in the box, and Bruno Fernandes slotted away the penalty. The goal only served to put some gloss on what was his first loss as a United player.
Chelsea will have really enjoyed getting the better of United for the first time this season, and will face Arsenal in a repeat of the 2017 final on the 1st of August. United will have to dust themselves off quickly, as they have a real chance of qualifying for the Champions League, both through the top four and the Europa League.
Player Ratings:
Man United
David De Gea – 2.5
Victor Lindelof – 3
Harry Maguire – 3
Eric Bailly – 4.5
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 4
Brandon Williams – 3.5
Nemanja Matic – 6
Fred – 5
Bruno Fernandes – 6.5
Daniel James – 4.5
Marcus Rashford – 4.5
Subs:
Anthony Martial – 5
Paul Pogba – 5.5
Mason Greenwood – 5
Odion Ighalo – 5
Timothy Fosu-Mensah – 5.5
Chelsea
Willy Caballero – 7
César Azpilicueta – 8
Kurt Zouma – 7
Antonio Rüdiger – 7
Reece James – 7.5
Marcos Alonso – 7.5
Mateo Kovacic – 8
Jorginho – 7
Mason Mount – 8.5
Willian – 7
Olivier Giroud – 9 (MOTM)
Subs:
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 5.5
Tammy Abraham – 6
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6
Pedro – N/A
By Jed Vine
