The quarter-finals of the FA Cup come to an end with Chelsea beating 10-men Manchester United by a goal to nil to keep their dreams of a league and cup double alive.
Michael Oliver.
I would like, to begin with, the names of N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, or Diego Costa, but it was the man carrying the whistle who was the central figure of this match.
Straight from the first kick of a ball, you could sense these two titans of English football were up for a scrap. United began the far better side, but it was Chelsea who had the two best chances with David De Gea making a couple of world class saves to deny Eden Hazard and Gary Cahill.
And then came the moment when everyone neutral sighed and decided to turn if off and watch a re-run of Only Fools and Horses.
With 10-minutes of the first half remaining, Michael Oliver gave Ander Herrera a second yellow card for a foul on Eden Hazard to effectively end the tie as a spectacle and any hope that United had of getting a result.
Yes, it was a foul, but when you consider there must have been 20+ fouls of equal of worse veracity that did not yield a yellow card from that point onwards, you despair at the sheer inconsistency and idiocy of the men in black. If there was a single foul in the game that deserved leeway, it was that one. Where is the logic in sending a man off for a run of the mill foul you see over 50 times during a game?
Jose Mourinho reacted by removing Henry Mkhitaryan from the equation, he brought Marouane Fellaini on to shore up the midfield, and with Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended and Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney injured, United were for once extremely short on options.
Predictably, the temperature rose from that point. The fourth official became a human shield as the two opposing managers snapped at each other like a pair of Hungry Hippos. But United made it to half time without conceding a goal.
“United are going to need penalties to win this,” said Phil Neville at half time.
The second half started with Chelsea in complete control of the football and scored within six minutes of the restart courtesy of an N’Golo Kante shot from the edge of the box. The Frenchman with another Man of the Match performance, and he seems to have added goals to his game after his switch from the Champions in the Summer.
Chelsea played with United after that. They were like a pack of lions waiting to grab a broken legged zebra by the throat. You can’t score without the ball, and United never saw it.
United fans were praying for one chance, and it came in the 58th minute when Marcus Rashford turned Gary Cahill inside out before shooting into the body of Thibaut Courtois. It was every inch as big a moment as Oliver’s stupid decision and one you think a more experienced Rashford will be putting away for fun in a few years time.
But despite Chelsea’s dominance, they couldn’t score that second goal. You have to give United a lot of credit for that as they were immense in midfield and defence. Every single player looked shattered by the end of the game, and it said something when it took until the 92nd minute for Chelsea fans to start singing that famous song.
“We’re all on our way to Wembley.”
Yes, you are Chelsea.
Let’s hope Michael Oliver is not.
FA Cup Quarter-Final Results
Middlesbrough 0 v 2 Man City
Arsenal 5 v 0 Lincoln
Spurs 6 v 0 Millwall
Chelsea 1 v 0 Man Utd
FA Cup Semi Final Draw
Chelsea v Spurs
Arsenal v Man City
*Both games to be played at Wembley Stadium
FA Cup Winning Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Chelsea 2/1
Man City 5/2
Spurs 10/3
Arsenal 7/2
