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On Saturday, the Football Association (FA) Cup final was played at the new Wembley Stadium in London, where the runner-up of the English championship, London's Chelsea, and the Premier League champion, Manchester United, clashed. After a dramatic battle, Jose Mourinho's players secured victory with a 1-0 score during the second half of extra time.
London 1 - 0 116‘ [1 - 0] Didier Drogba
Starting line-ups:
Chelsea: Cech; Ferreira, Essien, Terry, Bridge; Mikel, Makelele, Lampard; Wright-Phillips (93‘ Kalou), Drogba, J.Cole (46‘ Robben), Robben (108‘ A.Cole)
Man Utd: E.van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze; Fletcher (92‘ Smith), Scholes, Carrick (112‘ O‘Shea), Ronaldo; Rooney, Giggs (112 O.G.Solskjaer)
The match in the legendary Wembley Stadium started rather calmly and both teams did not immediately attack their opponents. The first 20 minutes saw a fierce battle in the middle of the field, and only in the 22nd minute did Chelsea's forward Didier Drogba take the ball from the midfield and his shot narrowly missed the goal.
In the 30th minute, Paulo Ferreira broke through on the right side into the penalty area and passed the ball to Frank Lampard, but his weak shot was caught by the "Red Devils" goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Moments later, after a pass from Drogba, Shaunas Wright-Phillips shot high over the crossbar.
In the 34th minute, Manchester players created their first dangerous opportunity when Cristiano Ronaldo, receiving the ball from Paul Scholes, shot wide from deep inside the pitch between two defenders. Three minutes later, the "Blues" had perhaps the most realistic chance in the first half, but Lampard's long-range shot missed just next to the goal post.
The second half started vigorously. Just two minutes in, Man Utd's striker Wayne Rooney fooled two Chelsea defenders and his shot was well saved by Petr Cech, who also blocked Ryan Giggs' follow-up shot. After ten minutes, Scholes delivered the ball into the penalty area and Wales national team defender Giggs sent it just over the crossbar without stopping it.
Midway through the second half, the ball bounced off the crossbar after Drogba's penalty kick. As the match was ending, the Man Utd players tried to avoid extra time at all costs, but Ronaldo, on the right side, bypassing Wayne Bridge, shot wide, and after a pass from Giggs, the Serbian Nemanja Vidic missed a header over the goal.
In the first half of extra time, just 8 minutes in, the Man Utd players were left scratching their heads when after a pass from Rooney from the right side, Giggs failed to direct the ball into the net from just a few meters away. In the 105th minute, a dangerous attack was mounted on the other side of the pitch when after a pass from Ferreira, Drogba's header from a few meters away narrowly missed the goal.
Five minutes into the second half of extra time, Rooney's shot from outside the penalty area was off target. Three minutes later, Chelsea threatened van der Sar's goal, as Salomon Kalou, after receiving the ball, shot just wide of the goal post. Finally, in a packed Wembley Stadium, spectators witnessed a goal - in the 116th minute, Chelsea striker from Ivory Coast combined with Lampard and skillfully placed the ball past goalkeeper van der Sar, leading the "Blues" to victory.
At the end of the match, the English champions Man Utd desperately tried to change the course of the game, but when referee Steve Bennet added three minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle blew, and Chelsea won the FA Cup tournament for the fourth time in the club's history.
