FA Cup
FA CUP FINAL LIVE : FULL ARTETA BECOMES 18TH MAN TO WIN FA CUP AS A PLAYER AND AS A MANAGER!
90+7min: Pedro won’t be able to see this one out. He has been stretchered off and is being given air. It looked like a horrible shoulder injury, and that’s another cruel blow for Frank Lampard and his coaching staff.
Sead Kolasinac is about to be introduced for Arsenal as they look to kill a few more seconds.
GAME STOPPED MOMENTARILY:
90+6min: Pedro is down and clutching his shoulder. The substitute ran into Sokratis inside the penalty area, and the Arsenal defender was able to shepherd the ball back to Emiliano Martinez.
Chelsea appealed for a foul right on the edge of the box just before then after Nicolas Pepe challenged Pedro, but the referee deemed there was nothing doing.
AUBAMEYANG ANNOUNCED AS MAN OF THE MATCH
90+5min: Two minutes left at Wembley. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been announced as the man of the match over the tannoy.
Emi Martinez saves
It’s fair to say the Arsenal goalkeeper has had a sensational game.
The Argentinian has only had one call-up from his country so far and probably wouldn’t have been playing had Bernd Leno not got injured.
But he’s been all over everything entering the box, especially in the last few minutes.
Injury time
We’re approaching SEVEN minutes of stoppage time.
Arsenal are, shall we say, manipulating the clock.
But Chelsea surely have time to concoct one more opportunity…
89min: Ross Barkley has been booked after challenging Eddie Nketiah right in front of referee Anthony Taylor. Time is running out for Chelsea and, as it stands, they look unlikely to get that leveller
SUBSTITUTION
87min: Sokratis is on in place of the injured David Luiz after a bit of faffing around. He wasn’t immediately prepared to come on, but finally jogged on to the field after a classic piece of time wasting
Post update
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
It’s now or never for Chelsea but they are pinned back into their own territory at the moment.
SUBSTITUTION
82min: Alexandre Lacazette has been replaced by Eddie Nketiah in Arsenal’s first switch of the evening.
81min: VAR scare for Arsenal and their goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez! Tammy Abraham was certain the stopper handled the ball outside his area after a long punt forward, but a check showed that he gathered narrowly on the right side of the line.
SUBSTITUTIONS
79min: Chelsea have made a triple substitution. Ross Barkley, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi have replaced Mason Mount, Olivier Giroud and Antonio Rudiger.
Arsenal are yet to make their first change.
ARTETA MAKES BOOKING HISTORY!
77min: History at the national stadium. Mikel Arteta has become the first manager to be booked in an FA Cup final after a confrontation with Antonio Rudiger. The Chelsea defender was also shown a yellow card as tensions flared.
75min: It really is all kicking off at Wembley! The players took their second drinks break after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s double and Andreas Christensen required treatment after clattering into Hector Bellerin.
The Arsenal full back played a key role in that goal, having hurtled forwards down the field before being tackled. The ball then fell loose to Pepe, and the rest is history.
RED CARD!
73min: Almost the same time Nigeria’s Victor Moses was sent off three years ago in similar fixture, Mateo Kovacic has been sent off! Chelsea are falling apart, but that looked harsh. The midfielder was booked earlier, and was handed his marching orders after tackling Granit Xhaka.
67min: That’s a delightful finish! The Arsenal talisman has done it again, and Mikel Arteta’s men have come from behind at Wembley!
Nicolas Pepe had raced towards the Chelsea penalty area and laid the ball across for the waiting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The frontman jinked beyond Antonio Rudiger and chipped an audacious effort over Willy Caballero and into the far corner. Breathtaking.
GOAL! ARSENAL 2-1 CHELSEA – PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG 67′
Post update
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
62min: Pedro teed up Reece James on the edge of Arsenal’s penalty area, but the wing back blazed high and wide of the target.
Frank Lampard has plenty to ponder over the next five minutes or so. He has just one more opportunity to make a substitute after the two injuries, and can still bring on three more players.
Guy Mowbray makes the good point that while Chelsea have three of their five subs left they can only actually make one more change. They could bring three players one in one go but they can’t stop the game more than once to make any subs, if that makes sense.
58min: The action is flowing from end to end! Arsenal broke away down the right side and attempted to carve out an opening for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Alexandre Lacazette’s pass was slightly behind his strike partner, however, and Andreas Christensen did well to close down the shot.
54min: It’s been very stop-start since the second half got underway. There will be cause for concern for Frank Lampard and Mikel Arteta with both teams playing their way through midfield with ease so far
50min: The substitute Pedro was involved straight away after haring down the left-hand side. His cross was deflected behind for a corner, but Emiliano Martinez rose highest to take a comfortable catch.
18:40
SUBSTITUTION
48min: Christian Pulisic has been replaced by Pedro, who is playing his final game for Chelsea today before joining Roma.
SECOND HALF
46min: Welcome back to Wembley, where the second half is now underway!
Let’s hope for more of the same!
Mikel Arteta was caught on camera delivering one final rallying cry before sending his players back out.
HALF TIME – ARSENAL 1-1 CHELSEA
That was a pulsating half of football! Both teams have gone hell for leather when flooding forward and equally look shaky at the back.
Christian Pulisic chipped Chelsea into an early lead after five minutes following a lovely piece of footwork inside the box.
But Arsenal then did well to haul themselves back level. Cesar Azpilicueta conceded a penalty after hauling down Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and the skipper tucked home from the spot.
After that, it has been all Arsenal and they are unlucky not to be leading! Join us for the second half very soon.
HALF TIME SUMMARY:
Christian Pulisic opened the scoring for Chelsea before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levelled from the penalty spot after the forward was fouled
45+1min: There will be five added minutes at the end of the first half.
SUMMARY SO FAR:
Christian Pulisic opened the scoring for Chelsea in the FA Cup final with a delicate finish following a well-worked move.
Nicolas Pepe thought he had curled in a marvellous equaliser for the Gunners but his celebrations were cut short as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had strayed offside in the build-up.
Just seconds later and Aubameyang was played in over the top, racing clear of Cesar Azpilicueta before being hauled back by the Chelsea skipper.
Referee Anthony Taylor opted to only caution Azpilicueta but the penalty stood following a short VAR check and Aubameyang made no mistake from the spot to draw Arsenal level.
42min: Mikel Arteta’s men are well on top now as we edge towards the break. Nicolas Pepe’s cross was floated towards Ainsley Maitland-Niles at the far post, but a flapping Willy Caballero was able to use his fingertips to divert the ball away for a corner.
Pepe was then afforded space to shoot after Chelsea failed to clear their lines, but his powerful strike was blocked by the substitute Andreas Christensen.
SUBSTITUTION for Chelsea
35min: Cesar Azpilicueta’s race is run. The Chelsea skipper went down with what appeared to be a nasty hamstring injury and has been replaced by Andreas Christensen. Insult to injury for the defender, who looked to be in tears as he limped off.
Goal Arsenal! Aubameyang scores from penalty 30 minutes
GOaAL! ARSENAL 0-1 CHELSEA – CHRISTIAN PULISIC 5′
5min: Wow! Chelsea take the lead! It was a flowing move from Frank Lampard’s men, and Christian Pulisic finished beautifully.
Mason Mount cut a ball across the box for Olivier Giroud after a drive forward from midfield, and the frontman cleverly flicked across to Pulisic.
The American did the rest, cutting beyond the defender and poking home.
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17:36
4min: Chelsea almost struck back immediately. Mason Mount curled an effort towards the far corner from the edge of the box, but Emiliano Martinez flew to his left to palm clear.
Olivier Giroud was fuming with his team-mate and believed he could have been slotted clear on goal instead. Lightning start to this one!
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17:34
3min: The first chance has fallen to Arsenal! Ainsley Maitland-Niles did superbly to wriggle his way into a crossing position from a long punt forward, and his delivery was nodded wide by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
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17:33
2min: Both teams are easing their way into this one. Remember they have matched each other in formation.
Chelsea named an unchanged team for the FA Cup final clash with London rivals Arsenal.
Blues boss Frank Lampard sticks with the side that won 2-0 against Wolves, although Willian was conspicuous in his absence from the matchday squad.
N’Golo Kante is only fit enough for a place on the bench as former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud once again leads the line.
Arsenal, meanwhile, make just one alteration from their 3-2 win over Watford on the closing day of the Premier League season.
Joe Willock drops to the bench as Hector Bellerin returns to a side which had 10 of the starters from the semi-final victory against Manchester City with Rob Holding replacing the injured Shkodran Mustafi.
Follow all the action, as it happens, below.
Arsenal XI: Martinez, Holding, David Luiz, Tierney, Bellerin, Xhaka, Ceballos, Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang (c)
Subs: Macey, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Torreira, Smith, Willock, Nelson, Saka, Nketiah
Chelsea XI: Caballero, James, Azpilicueta (c), Zouma, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount, Giroud, Pulisic
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Tomori, Emerson, Kante, Barkley, Hudson-Odoi, Pedro, Abraham
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted he was surprised that Norwegian striker Erling Haaland declined to take a penalty for his side in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace with the kick subsequently being missed by Omar Marmoush.
Trailing 1-0 to Eberechi Eze’s goal, City were awarded a penalty in the first half when Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell tripped Bernardo Silva who had burst into the area.
Haaland, who had failed to score in his first five Wembley appearances for City, looked poised to break that duck, but handed the ball to Marmoush whose first-ever penalty for City was superbly saved by Dean Henderson.
“I thought he would want to take it but they didn’t speak,” said Guardiola. “That moment for the penalty, it’s the feeling and how they feel. They decided Omar was ready to take it.
“Omar took a lot of time when the ball was stopped, so it put more pressure on him, and Henderson made a good save.”
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, working as a TV pundit for the BBC, said he felt the occasion might have got to Haaland.
“He’s a world-class forward, but when we are talking about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there is no way they are giving that ball away,” Rooney said.
“That is what separates them two players from Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe and these players. They are selfish and they want to score every game.
“When (Haaland) misses chances I think you can see it gets to him and it does affect him. Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley might have been too much for him. You never know, he is a human being.”
Haaland has scored 30 goals for City this season in all competitions but has missed three of his seven penalties.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace face Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday hoping to lift the FA Cup for the first time and it is guaranteed that high on the pre-match agenda will be the club’s extraordinary and eventually heartbreaking 1990 campaign.
The semi-finals and final(s) that year were arguably the most dramatic in the competition’s long and storied history and remain the emotional high and low point of every Palace fan who watched them.
Palace were struggling in the top flight after promotion and had been humiliated 9-0 by Liverpool early in the season.
In the Cup they were hardly pulling up trees either, beating lower league Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town, Rochdale and Cambridge United to reach the semi-finals for the first time since they lost to Southampton as a third division team in 1976.
Facing runaway champions-elect and FA Cup holders Liverpool again in the semis look an insurmountable barrier and an Ian Rush goal had the Reds ahead at halftime at Villa Park.
Things then went crazy as Mark Bright and Gary O’Reilly gave Palace a shock lead. Two goals in two minutes put Liverpool back in front, only for Andy Gray to stun the odds-on favourites in the 88th minute to force extra time.
Amazingly, it was Palace who snatched victory in the 109th minute via Alan Pardew, who would later manage the club.
It was the first year that both semi-finals were live on TV and barely had the excitement abated when similarly unfancied Oldham ran out to face Manchester United at Maine Road.
The second division team had not beaten top-flight opposition in 66 years but accounted for four that season in a double cup run that caught the nation’s imagination.
Playing vibrant, attacking football under Joe Royle, Oldham twice came from behind to draw 3-3 after extra time – meaning a remarkable 13 goals had been scored on a day of unimaginable drama. United ended Oldham’s dream when they snatched a 2-1 victory six minutes from the end of extra time in the replay.
ALL-ENGLISH TEAM
The Palace side who lined up at Wembley were the last all-English team to play in the final while United’s were the last all-UK lineup to win it.
United manager Alex Ferguson was under huge pressure to deliver a trophy four years after arriving at Old Trafford, but Palace struck first through O’Reilly.
Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes turned it round and United seemed on course for victory, only for Ian Wright to come off the bench for the most wonderful 20 minutes of his life.
The former non-league striker had been sidelined for much of the season with a twice-broken leg, but exploded into action to equalise with virtually his first touch and then put the Londoners ahead early in extra time.
“It’s still the greatest moment I’ve had in my career – easily – simply because of everything that it had entailed up to that point,” Wright told the Palace website on Friday.
“My emergence at Palace, and to reach the biggest stage in English football, and all of a sudden I’m on the Wembley pitch.
“And then what happened after that was the stuff of fairytales. It really, really was.”
However, as the Palace fans sang in dreamland, Hughes broke their hearts with a late equaliser.
The replay five days later could not live up to everything that had gone before and though Palace battled gamely, United won it 1-0 with a goal by Lee Martin.
It was a victory that launched Ferguson and United on their dizzying journey of success – that included another extra-time FA Cup final win over Palace in 2016 after the Scot had retired – but one that left a gaping hole in the hearts of the losers.
“I would have loved to have won that FA Cup, and we were only seven minutes away,” said Wright, who went on to win multiple trophies, including two FA Cups with Arsenal. “Seven minutes. Honestly, I still can’t take it.”
-Reuters
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The first weekend of semi-automated offside decisions in English soccer descended into confusion on Saturday as Bournemouth had a goal ruled out after a record eight-minute VAR check.
Bournemouth, who eventually beat Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties in the FA Cup fifth round after a 1-1 draw, thought they had doubled their lead when defender Milos Kerkez scored in the 35th-minute goal.
However, new technology could not be used because the six-yard area was too crowded and VAR officials had to revert to manually drawing lines before disallowing the goal.
Fellow defender Dean Huijsen was adjudged to have been in an offside position as Kerkez’s effort brushed his shoulder before going in to the net.
The VAR check was further complicated as VAR officials Timothy Wood and Darren England also had to also examine the possibility of hand balls prior to the tight offside call.
Both sets of fans voiced their disapproval at the interminable wait, chanting “it’s not football any more” and “this is embarrassing”.
Referee Sam Barrott, who eventually announced the decision to the crowd via a microphone, had to explain to the respective managers and players what was happening during the delay.
-Reuters
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