Chelsea ended Manchester City’s hopes of winning a dream treble and quadruple, all in one go, as they beat the Premier League leaders in the semifinals of the 2020-21 FA Cup at Wembley.
City and Chelsea had both secured their places in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League earlier this past week and were all set to face off in football’s oldest competition.
Pep Guardiola’s side, however, had their sights set on an unprecedented quadruple as they already qualified for the Carabao Cup final and are 8 points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League.
Chelsea, however, had other ideas as Thomas Tuchel’s side deserved the victory when Moroccan star Hakim Ziyech slid home Timo Werner’s assist in the 55th minute to set up a final tie against third placed Leicester City who have qualified for their first FA Cup final.
Ziyech had a goal ruled out for offside before he scored the eventual winner but that was enough to beat City who looked far off the pace against a Chelsea side that has only lost one game since the German manager took charge.
Pep Guardiola may have taken Chelsea a bit too lightly as he made a total of eight changes from their Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund. Things went from bad to worse for the Spanish manager as Kevin De Bruyne limped off the pitch, injured in the second half.
Chelsea had a very late scare as goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga just about kept out Rodri’s injury-time header but Tuchel will be extremely happy with his team’s performances since he took over the Stamford Bridge side.
Kevin de Bruyne is a huge loss for Manchester City (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, said: “It was a very, very strong performance. I’m very happy and proud.
“We played an excellent 35 minutes in the first half. We had to suffer for 10 minutes. We then played another 30 minutes so strong and got the lead and could have got another. I am very proud of my team.
“A good defence is also having the ball and ball possession. It is a very good clean sheet. We were not lucky to escape with a clean sheet, we worked hard for it.
“The guys are ready to cover for each other if anyone loses a duel. We wanted to be brave today with the ball and against the ball and we did it.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola also shared his thoughts in the post-match: “We played a good last 15 minutes. We had struggled to find our place in the pockets but congratulations to Chelsea in a tight game.
“We arrived sometimes in that position but after that we didn’t create. We conceded the goal but after we reacted well, especially after Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan came on.
“The team that defends with eight players in the final third it is not easy. This type of game the margin is so tight. In general we controlled well. We didn’t create many clear-cut chances but we arrived more than them.”
On Kevin De Bruyne’s injury: “It doesn’t look good, he has pain. We will see. Tomorrow he will have a test.”
Chelsea face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League next while Manchester City travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa but this is all tricky given the emergence of The Super League.
