Manchester United vs Chelsea, highlights: Chelsea profits from De Gea errors, through to FA Cup final

Follow the Manchester United vs Chelsea updates and commentary as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard face off in the FA Cup semifinal at the Wembley.

Updated : Jul 20, 2020 00:58 IST

Giroud celebrates giving Chelsea the lead against Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium.
Giroud celebrates giving Chelsea the lead against Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium.
lightbox-info

Giroud celebrates giving Chelsea the lead against Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium.

 

That's the final whistle and Chelsea is through to the FA Cup final! United's 19-match unbeaten run comes to an end. The Blues will face London rival Arsenal in the showpiece event on August 1.

90'+ 6' Abraham does well on the right side and with a back flick releases Hudson-Odoi, who dribbles into United's box and fires over from close range.

90'+ 3' Ighalo is flagged offside in trying to run on to a long ball from the back.

The clock is slowly ticking away against the favour of United.

Mount goes off for Pedro.

Six minutes of added time.

90' Good challenge from Williams to poke the ball off Hudson-Odoi inside United's box.

89' Bruno lplays a ball over the top for Ighalo, but Caballero rushes off his line to collect the ball.

Kovacic comes off for Loftus-Cheek

86' GOAL! Bruno tucks it away to the left but is it too little too late?

85' Penalty for United . Hudson-Odoi trips up Martial inside the box.

84' A good passing move from the right frees up Bruno in the middle but his pickout for Martial is overhit.

82' Pogba looks to find Martial on the left but his pass is cut off in midfield.

Hudson-Odoi and Abraham come on for Giroud and Willian.

79' Another free header form a corner kick and Matic doesn't get the connection inside the box. He heads it down and over the bar.

78' Rashford and Wan-Bissaka are going off for Ighalo and Fosu-Mensah.

74' GOAL for Chelsea and it's surely game over United! De Gea gets the save initially from a James header but Chelsea keep the pressure in its box. Alonso swings in a low cross which Maguire, who under pressure from Rudiger, inadvertently pokes it past De Gea at the near post.

73' James found on the right after a driving run by Kovacic but the cross into the box is deflected ehind for  a corner.

73' United dominating possession but finding it difficult to find the opening.

70' Yellow card for Pogba after a foul on Kovacic.

25 minutes left for United to save its 19-match unbeaten run.

Time for the water break.

65' What a chance for United! Caballero comes out of his line and misses the ball completely. Maguire with a free goal to aim at can't get his header on target.

64' Fernandes' free-kick is headed behind for a corner.

63' Another clash of heads as Rudiger collides into Greenwood's. Foul in favour of United but trouble for Greenwood as he receives medical attention.

62' There is urgency from United but still sloppy with its passing. Chelsea is sniffing for the kill here to pounce on more mistakes from United as it looks to chase the game.

59' Alonso with a cross from the left and Giroud's deflected shot is heading towards goal, which De Gea springs to paw it away.

57' Willian with a cutback from the right and Giroud lets it run behind for Mount, who swings his shot over the bar.

56' Maguire with a free header at the far post from Wan Bissaka's cross. The header is powerful but its dorected straight at Caballero.

56' Fred off for Pogba. James off for Greenwood.

55' Rudger brings down James on the edge of the box and fould in favour of United.

Pogba and Greenwood are set to come on here. Solskjaer is throwing the whole sink at Chelsea.

52' United nearly pull one back. Bruno with a long pick out for Rashford, who races past Azipilicueta to take an outside of the boot shot which whisks past the goal.

51' Giroud gets in ahead of Maguire to play the pass to free Mount on the left. He swings in a low cross into the box which Giroud shoots wide. United living very dangerously at the back.

47' And its' 2-0 already! Mount with a big advantage for Chelsea! Mistakes everywhere for United! Williams is forced into hitting a wayward pass into midfield which Mount collects and runs at goal. Lindelof and Maguire back off his run and he unleashes a stroke low at goal and De Gea lets it slip in behind him. That's a calamitous effort from De Gea adding further pressure on his place in this side for next season.

46' The goal-scorer Giroud begins the proceedings.

SECOND HALF

In four meetings against Chelsea, this is the first time United has gone behind.

Half-time. A stop-start half ends with a goal right at the stroke of the whistle. Chelsea has done enough in the half to earn that lead, United so far hasn't add enough answers to trouble its opponent's goal. Will Solskjaer risk the likes of Pogba and Greenwood i the second half?

45' + 11' GOAL for Chelsea! Azpilicueta swings in a cross from the right side and Giroud gets in front of Lindelof to nod it against United's goal whrre De Gea can't get enough behind to keep it from going over the line. Neatly worked from Chelsea on the right side to release Azpilicutea free to deliver the cross.

45' + 11' Foul on Matic by James inside Chelsea's half. Bruno tries to slip in James in behind Chelsea's defence but Caballero is quick to race out and collect the ball

Martial is back out on the field and is moving well.

45+7' Martial goes down inside Chelsea's box as he tries to dispossess a Chelsea player. He kicks the foot of Martial and VRA check says no foul. These are testing times for United with Martial holding his back.  Solskjaer is not happy with the decision.

Bailly is down on the ground and off the field of play. There is some concern around Bailly's health as there is a break in play. He is going to be stretchered off the arena. Hopefully it's nothing serious.  There is oxygen being supplied and his head is in a neck brace.

Five minutes of added time. Four at the back for United.

Fosu-Mensah is warming up... Maguire is getting bandaged up. United making a tactical change here with Bailly going off for forward Martial. Bailly is up on his feet and but appears to be a bit dazed.

42' Another clash of heads for Bailly but this time its with his captain Maguire. Maguire seems to have a cut on his forehead and both players receive medical attention.

There is a clash of heads between Zouma and Bailly with both players receiving treatment.

38' Williams gets in the block on Azpilicueta's cross and the ball deflects behind for a corner kick. Zouma heads the ball wide after a cross in from the left by Willian.

36' Rashford's knuckleball free-kick thunders against the Chelsea wall.

35' Another foul on Bruno Fernandes, this time from Kovacic, and a free-kick for United outside the box.

33' Chelsea hit United on the break through Willian's darting run on the left but he ends up over-hitting his cross.

32' Bruno's free-kick is on target but it's in a comfortable position for Caballero to push it behind.

31' United with some possession in Chelsea's half which results in a free-kick just outside Chelsea's box.

United missing a Pogba-like figure in the middle of the park at the moment to control the pace of this match for it.

26' Maguire has his hands full of Giroud to bring down the attacker. Free-kick on the left for Chelsea.Mount's free-kick is a bit far away for Zouma to meet on the run.

24' United looks to break through Rashford but Rudiger remains strong in the challenge. And its time-out. Bruno goes down again after Azpilicueta catches him with his boot in the lead up to the move.

22' Chelsea forcing mistakes off United by pushing its opposition high up the pitch. Another misplaced pass from United and it leads to a shooting chance for Mount which is deflected behind for a corner.

21' Maguire and Giroud come together for the ball and the former goes down feeling the contact. Referee calls for the foul.

Chelsea shading the possession with close to 60 per cent of the ball in the first 20 minutes.

Paul Pogba is already up from his seat to warm-up.

17' Bruno limping a bit there after Jorginho catches his ankle.

15' What a chance for Alonso! A brief spell of pressure from Chelsea with Azpilicueta swinging in a cross into the back post but an unmarked Alonso heads it over from just six yards over.

13' Willian with a good steal in midfield off Matic and Mount was released on the left in a 3v3 situation for Chelsea. But he takes too much time on the ball and United get enough men back to clear the danger.

11' Recce James with a stinging strike cutting in from the right! De Gea punches it away from his goal. First shot on goal in this contest.

9' Excellent run from the back by Lindelof with the ball after a 1-2 with Rashford. He plays it into James who ends up hitting it long for Fred in a dangerous position.

6' Fred is fouled after wriggling away from a tight space near the touchline but is fouled later by Alonso. Mike Dean puts his shakes his index finger gesturing 'none of that, please'.

5' No real urgency so far with both teams cautious in its approach.

In United's back four, Maguire plays as the left centre-back while Lindelof slots in at the right. In this back three, Maguire is in the middle and is flanked by Lindelof on the left and Bailly on the right.

2' Williams does well in his tussle with Reece James but ends up over-hitting his pass.

1' Bruno Fernandes kicks things off in the second semifinal. Headed clearance from Caballero by rushing off line to take the ball away from Rashford's run.

Manchester United makes its ways out on to the pitch first. They are followed by Chelsea at the empty Wembley Stadium. Friendly greeting between the managers Lampard and Solskjaer.

FIRST HALF

9.57 pm: It's box office on the refereeing front as well with Mike Dean officiating this fixture.

9.52 pm: ICYMI, Arsenal stunned the holder Manchester City 2-0 thanks to goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang yesterday. Here's how it unfolded.

9.40 pm: Solskjaer rests Pogba and Martial but Rashford will lead the line alongside Daniel James. Unlucky for its FA Cup top-scorer Odion Ighalo and back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero to find only a place on the bench.

9.36 pm: Both teams setting up in a 3-5-2 formation and some expected big changes as well keeping their Premier League engagements in mind. Lampard decides to keep the in-form Pulisic on the bench with Chelsea playing Liverpool on Wednesday night.

 

9.25 pm: Team news for the semifinal coming in 5 minutes.

9.23 pm: Away from the FA Cup... Great news for both Manchester United and Chelsea, who are fifth and third on the Premier League table, respectively. Leicester is down 3-0 at half-time against Tottenham Hotspur and is heading towards a big defeat.

PREVIEW

With the Premier League finale at the background, Manchester United will take on Chelsea in the second FA Cup semifinal on Sunday at the Wembley Stadium.

United is on a 19-match unbeaten run in all competitions under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer so might be favoured in what looks to be tightest of the semifinals, on paper at least. Chelsea is above United in the league, by a point, but hasn’t been as consistent since the turn of the year.

READ:

Chelsea has also lost thrice to United this season, twice in the league and once in the League Cup.

Frank Lampard has rejected Solskjaer’s claim that Chelsea has an unfair advantage in Sunday’s match because it has had a longer time to prepare.

While Chelsea last played on Tuesday in a 1-0 win over Norwich, United has already two games this week - a 2-2 draw against Southampton on Monday and a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Thursday.

"We’re in a period where we’re playing games all the time, very regularly, and you become ‘play, recover, play again, recover.’ You work with the squad as it is,” Lampard said. “It’s an age-old question (by) a lot of managers. You probably dig out the times when I’ve mentioned it, but at the same time it isn’t about advantage or not. Sometimes it works in your favour to be playing regularly and ticking over.”

Solskjaer has stuck with a similar starting line-up in the last six matches in the league indicating that he might ring in the changes for Sunday's clash.

United has the Europa League as well as FA Cup to aim for in the remaining weeks of the season. Like Chelsea, though, the priority is to finish in the top four and secure a Champions League qualification spot.

With two league games left, United is in fifth place, tied on points with fourth-place Leicester and a point behind Chelsea.

ALSO READ:

"We are fine,” Solskjaer said. “We are fit and the players are raring to go and want to play again.

"Of course anyone can hold their hands up at any moment and say, ‘I want to sit out this one.’ We have players on the bench desperate to join in.”

Sony LIV will live stream the FA Semifinal  of Manchester United vs Chelsea from 10.30 pm (IST) on Sunday.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment