Chelsea knocked the holders Manchester United out of the FA Cup thanks to a quarter-final victory at Stamford Bridge. In a fractious affair, the pattern of the game was decided in the 35th minute when Ander Herrera was sent off by referee Michael Oliver for two bookable offences. United resorted to keeping Chelsea at bay for the remainder of the game, but could not stop a N’Golo Kante shot from outside the box to beat the defensive line and fly past the reach of David de Gea into the bottom corner in the 51st minute.
Though Chelsea could not capitalise on the vast number of chances they created after the goal, their lead was barely threatened thanks to the one-man advantage.
Here are the talking points from the encounter at London.
#1 Herrera sending off swings the momentum in Chelsea’s favour
Until the 35th minute, it appeared to be a fascinating contest between a vibrant Chelsea and a spirited United. Though Chelsea were creating the better opportunities, Manchester United were somehow keeping themselves in it with some disciplined defending. Marcus Rashford’s pace on the break was crucial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan was knocking the ball around pretty well in the attacking third to give United a chance of taking the lead.
However, Ander Herrera’s red card for two bookable offences – the second one coming moments after the referee warned United captain Chris Smalling regarding the number of fouls on Eden Hazard – set the pattern for the remainder of the game.
United were forced to haul Mkhitaryan off and replace him with Marouane Fellaini in order to provide some steel to the back. Jose Mourinho’s side found chances few and far between since Herrera’s red card. Once they fell behind, it was very unlikely they were going to grab an equaliser using Rashford on the counter-attack as they barely saw the ball in the second half.
#2 N’Golo Kante does it against Manchester United – again
The man for all positions – N’Golo Kante – scored just his second competitive goal this season. And both have come against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
After scaring the daylight out of the United midfield in their 4-0 thrashing last year, the tireless Frenchman was there to haunt United yet again – locating space in the Manchester United final third to get a shot away and beat a desperately diving David de Gea to break the deadlock.
With the visitors sitting deep with five at the back and Fellaini holding, the tactic was to frustrate the hosts and force them to try their luck with long-range shots. Kante was the lucky one to win the draw from the raffle and send his side into the last four of the FA Cup.
If you look more than into his game than just the goal, his overall performance was first-class as usual. He covered all areas of the pitch, ensuring that United were never really allowed to get out of their half and trouble Chelsea’s goal for a considerable period of time.
#3 Rashford’s miss comes back to haunt United
Mourinho’s tactic of playing on the counter-attack nearly got its desired result midway through the second half. A clearance from the United box was horribly misjudged by David Luiz. He missed his header under pressure from Marcus Rashford, allowing him to charge towards goal with just Gary Cahill ahead of him. His twinkle-toes caught Cahill off guard on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area, giving Rashford time and space to shoot.
However, Thibaut Courtois remained on alert and stuck a left foot out to keep Rashford’s shot out and leave him to rue what was easily their best opportunity to equalise and possibly take the tie into extra-time. However, the 19-year old’s effort and desire to run away with the ball from his half despite an apparent injury must be credited.
#4 Eden Hazard steals the show
The star of the show was yet again the Belgian on the left-wing – Eden Hazard. His fleet-footedness proved to be a nightmare for United to defend against. Ask Ander Herrera, whose sending off was a result for two bookable offences on Hazard.
He produced the moment of the game when he expertly turned Chris Smalling while receiving a pass to run into space, before skipping past an outstretched leg of Marcos Rojo to create a goal-scoring opportunity from close range, only to see his shot well parried away by the mercurial De Gea for a corner. He made a number of inroads into the United defence during the game and deserved a goal or two to reward his performance.
His stellar performances this campaign – a massive contrast to an ineffective 2015-16 season – have surely helped Chelsea canter towards the Premier League title and possibly success in the FA Cup as well.
#5 United can now focus on the Europa League
With an exit from the FA Cup and the race for the top four looking extremely tight, Jose Mourinho’s side can now solely focus on the Europa League as their ticket to next season’s Champions League. Coming into this game on the back of a near-4000 mile round trip to and from Rostov, a handful of injuries and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s suspension, United were never really expected to get anything out of this game.
The challenge got all the more insurmountable after losing Herrera and it was only a ‘defensive Mourinho masterclass’ that could have given them any hope. N’Golo Kante’s strike put even that prospect to bed and apart from Rashford’s missed opportunity, they never looked likely to trouble Thibaut Courtois’ goal. With no more FA Cup commitments, winning the Europa League will surely be United’s numero uno priority coming into the final two months of the season.
