Chelsea beat Man Utd in the FA Cup Final by a goal to nil in what could be Antonio Conte’s final game in charge, after the defending champions failed to qualify for the Champions League.
The waitresses were lighting candles all around me as I stood outside the smoking room trying to watch patches of Chelsea’s FA Cup triumph over Man Utd.
There was a time when I would have sold a child for the chance to watch the FA Cup Final unbothered by the rigours of daily life. It used to be the one day where you were glued to the BBC from morning until night. And here I am deciding to watch the once mighty reds or Elton Tsang three-bet Jason Koon on the livestream beamed out on a neighbouring TV screen.
In my day, when United reached the FA Cup final, they would win. It was a banker. Like finding garlic in an Italian pasta sauce. But it’s not like that these days. United’s defeat to Chelsea was their third in their previous four attempts.
United was poor.
Too many of their world-class players looked like they had spent the night playing in the €1m Triton Cash Game in Montenegro. Nobody in a red shirt had a shot on target in the first 45-minutes, and Gareth Southgate will be having nightmares after watching Eden Hazard make Phil Jones look like a donkey before the United defender chopped him down to give away a first-half penalty which Hazard finished with ease.
It’s the first time that Mourinho has lost a cup final when in charge of an English team, winning the six previous ties, and it means he finishes the season with nothing but second place in the Premier League. And if you think that was a worthy accomplishment, note they were 19-points behind Man City.
And yet it will be the winning manager who will end up on the golf course next season.
Conte’s failure to qualify for the Champions League makes his second piece of silverware in two seasons irrelevant, as Roman Abramovich is almost certainly going to take the axe to the head of a man who seems to have been at loggerheads with the Chelsea hierarchy for most of the season.
Chelsea’s eighth FA Cup win was a stroll in the park.
Alexis Sanchez had a goal disallowed for offside, and an unmarked Pogba headed wide from eight yards, but in the Conte‘s side deserved the win.
The Italian is even money to become the next Premier League Manager to leave his post.
