London, May 16 - Leicester survived a last-minute scare from Chelsea to lift the FA Cup in the presence of a crowd of 21,000, allowed into the stadium for the first time during the pandemic.
Not only will this game enter into the 137-year history of Leicester as their first ever cup final win – having lost five finals – but also the story will include one of the finest match-winning goals. It will be also noted for the most memorable saves by a goalkeeper which made the victory possible.
After their triumph over Chelsea, with the only goal of the match, Leicester manager, Brendon Rodgers said: “It’s been an amazing day for the city. I wasn’t aware before I came to Leicester that they’d never won the FA Cup. So, to be able to give that to the owners and the fans is so special. Youri’s (Tielemans) goal was like an old-school FA Cup-winning goal.”
He added: “I’m very proud. Seeing the happiness on the faces makes this a very special day. Overall, we were the better team. We were super aggressive, pressed well and we were always a threat with the ball. I’m so happy for the players and the supporters. It was a dream of our owners to win the FA Cup and now we’ve done that.”
The first half was somewhat mundane during which both sides missed chances. Jamie Vardy’s shot was blocked well by Chelsea’s Reece James while Timo Werner’s flick could not be met by a header from Cesar Azpilicueta.
The all-important goal came in the 63rd minute. A pass from James was intercepted and went on to Ayoze Perez. He took it on his knee and then the ball hit his left arm before going to Youri Tielemans who unleashed a powerful right-footed shot from 25 yards into the far top corner of the goal.
Chelsea continued to have more of the possession as they tried for the equaliser. Ben Chilwell headed against a post with Casper Schmeichel getting a hand to it. Then in the 87th minute a firm drive from Mason Mount was heading inside the right-hand post when Schmeichel dived with his outstretched left hand to pull off a most memorable save as Chelsea looked on in disbelief. But the drama was still not over.
Finally, in the 89th minute, Chilwell got to a ball from Tiago Silva before Schmeichel, and when the ball went loose, Soyuncu’s clearance hit Wes Morgan and went into the net for an own goal. But as Chelsea celebrated, VAR found that Chilwell was marginally offside when he received the ball.
Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel said: “Of course we’re disappointed but I’m not angry with the performance. We were simply unlucky. You need luck to win at this level. We missed a great chance in the first half – probably the best chance of the whole game.”
He added: “They scored a fantastic goal but a lucky goal, of course. I think we must accept we were unlucky. It’s about bouncing back and showing the right mentality. We missed a trophy and we’re sad about that but we have another competition now.”
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