At 19:15 Lithuanian time, the first FA Cup semi-final took place at Wembley Stadium.
The two strongest teams from London in the Premier League, Chelsea and Tottenham, fought for a spot in the tournament final. Mauricio Pochettino’s team did not break a 35-year streak of failures in this tournament against Chelsea - after an intense battle, they lost with a score of 2-4.
The match started off very successfully for Antonio Conte's team - in the 5th minute, the "Blues" scored the first goal. Willian, with a perfect penalty shot, put his team in the lead.
However, Tottenham did not falter after conceding a goal and continued to play their usual game. The Spurs created attacks on the flanks until Harry Kane headed in an equalizer in the 18th minute.
Throughout the rest of the first half, Tottenham spent more time with the ball, but in the 43rd minute, an inadvertent foul by Heung-Min Son in his penalty area cost the North London team a penalty, which was successfully converted by the same Willian.
In the second half, Tottenham had to once again look for opportunities to equalize the score. It didn't take long - after a brilliant pass by Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, sliding between two opponents, sent the ball past Thibaut Courtois in the 52nd minute.
Spurs continued their threatening game with the ball, but A. Conte's team took advantage of the spaces given by the opponents.
In the 75th minute, Eden Hazard, who entered the field after a substitution, forced the "aristocrats" fans to rise from their seats. After a set-piece situation, the ball landed at Hazard's feet, and he defeated Hugo Lloris with an accurate shot.
Five minutes later, the final blow was delivered in the match - Nemanja Matic scored an impressive fourth goal. After Hazard's pass, the Serb sent the ball into the top corner of the goal with a powerful shot from about 25 meters.
Chelsea confidently advanced to the tournament final, where they will face the winner of the London Arsenal vs. Manchester City pair.
Result:
Chelsea 4 - 2 Tottenham
5' [1 - 0] Willian
18' [1 - 1] H. Kane
43' [2 - 1] Willian (penalty)
52' [2 - 2] D. Alli
75' [3 - 2] E. Hazard
80' [4 - 2] N. Matic
Starting line-ups:
Chelsea: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Ake; Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Willian, Batshuayi, Pedro.
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Wanyama, Dembele, Son, Eriksen, Dele, Kane.
