3 things Chelsea did right in their 1-0 win against Manchester United

Scoreline: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (Hazard 22' P)

Chelsea did barely enough to get past Manchester United and win the FA Cup at Wembley. In what has been a torrid season, Antonio Conte finally gets something to cheer about but it was not easy, not for one second.

Chelsea had to defend out of their depths to keep United at bay as they kept trying and trying to no avail.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the 3 things Chelsea got right on the day:

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#3 Defending deeply and narrowly

It was as pragmatic as pragmatic football gets but it didn't come from Jose Mourinho's side. It was Conte who set his team up to defended deep in their halves and soak up the pressure. The sponge tactics worked as United failed to break them down but it was not for a lack of trying.

The tactic worked well because Manchester United were without Chelsea and United were without rubber to bounce off in the final third.

As a result, Sanchez, Rashford and Lingard kept running into cul-de-sacs or weren't afforded enough room to get some good shots away.

But when United did get a couple of gilt-edged chances, like Rashford's faint swipe at the end of the first half at the end of a surging Pogba run or Pogba's poor header off Martial's corner when he was unmarked, they botched it themselves.

Chelsea sat back and the plan worked for them. Not a lot worked for them on the day but the defensive tactics definitely helped.

#2 Rudiger and Kante stepping up to the plate

Rudiger was immense in

defence

Chelsea dropped deep once Hazard put them in front from the spot and they were pegged back into their own half for almost the entirety of what was left of the 90 minutes.

Antonio Rudiger was immense at the back and he came to the fore and stifled United's threat down the right flank by being a thorn in Antonio Valencia's flesh.

He was doing the needful for set pieces and was giving it his all to ensure United got beat at their own game.

As for N'Golo Kante, who almost always shows up against the Red Devils, he had to do enough defensive work for himself and Cesc Fabregas.

And he did that to perfection. Kante did get overrun in midfield in the second half but he was there more often than not, tracking back from an advanced position to thwart several United attacks just as they looked set to flourish.

#1 Allowing Eden Hazard the freedom to roam

Hazard had a fine outing

Antonio Conte gave Hazard the freedom to take to the attacking realms like he wanted in the absence of Pedro and Willian. Hazard used this as an opportunity to stay clear of the dogged Ander Herrera.

Hazard was on top of his game and he was slaloming past the United defenders who were always a yard or two short for pace. It was Hazard who schlepped Chelsea into a threatening position in the first half after catching Phil Jones flatfooted in his defensive half.

Jones' poor positional awareness let Hazard get past him and eventually led to him being fouled inside the area to give way for the one and only decisive moment of the game. Hazard slotted the ball home coolly from the spot.

It was perhaps the only notable chance that Chelsea created on the night. Olivier Giroud was not even in the picture.

The talismanic Belgian's pace and trickery helped run the clock out towards the end of the game as well as United's defenders were hesitant to go in for the tackle. This helped in buying Chelsea a lot of time.

Eden Hazard's importance in this Chelsea side cannot be understated and that is why the Blues will have to pull out every stop to make sure he stays at Stamford Bridge after this summer.