at long last the wait is over a warm welcome to wembley this is derek ray joined in the
commentary box by lee dixon and we're approaching kickoff time in what promises to be a spectacular
fa cup final it is chelsea and they take on sheffield united hi derek well i'm
biased because i'm english through and through what a special place for a cup final this is
i absolutely love this place and those players are in for a real treat
what a chance to put your name up in lights really looking forward to this i really am marcos alonso
and a look at the chelsea starting 11. kappa begins in goal antonio rudiger starts with
andreas christensen in central defense and gono conte starts alongside matteo kovacich in central
midfield and it's an interesting looking attacking constellation with three forwards listed from the
start here's how the lineup looks for sheffield united ethan ampadu starts with phil jagielka and
central defence and it's two strikers up front who look to provide the goal scoring threats
it ought to be a really interesting battle chelsea kick off
matteo kovic
reese james he got in the way of that cross
david mcgoldrick and stuffing up the danger
kai habits
and that's a straightforward stop lundstrom now mcburney
good use of advantage by the referee now doesn't get away with it free kick given
clumps
looks promising now do they mean business on this occasion
that's excellent defending following the cross
stevens let's be named towards the front first
and well off target in the end good pressure from the defender to put him off
error by the keeper corner given now the delivery
and the keeper making sure there were no scraps for them to feed on
alert defending
rhys james
setting off perhaps a little bit too much here lost it
oliver norwood stevens
norwood beautifully disguised ball now the task is to remain focused there it is how about that
for starters well what a huge moment that might be for this club the fans are going absolutely wild
well here's the replay and what a ball that is to put him through and sometimes with all the time in
the world you can fluff your lines but he composes himself and slips it past the keeper beautifully
well the coach can feel this game slipping away i'm sure might need a plan b so the
match has restarted one nil here very good reading of the game to win possession back
deserves credit for winning the ball back
free kick to chelsea
he's been admonished by the referee he's now got to walk something of a tightrope
yeah he knows exactly where he stands look at the referee how he's told him off there
no yellow card but certainly knows what the referee is thinking
well it can be a hit or a miss when it comes to striking it on the volley
yeah you always take a risk when it comes in like that but he took a chance he was brave
just not his day on that occasion
baldock
can they get in behind them
kante
flag up tight offside
any sort of lead is important they have the lead what have you made of it so far been a decent half
for chelsea the coach still has some work to do at half time ball retention has to improve
a little bit if they're going to dominate in the second half possession could be key
the referee has decided that two additional minutes are in order it might be perfectly
set up for the counter attack you know timo verna and it's come off the keeper
so the whistle then we're at the halfway stage in this match
the two teams have switched around and are ready now for the second half fleck now mcgoldrick
an effective challenge now can they counter clinically let's see if something comes of this
from the textbook interception attending to his defensive chores he's tripping in the corner
possession one well he's going to be disappointed with that pass
marcus alonso
and mount james
well that pass easy on the eye well he saw the whites of the keepers eyes
and the whites of his outstretched gloves great goalkeeping well he's
denied a certain goal there great reflexes from the keeper
so deciding to make a personnel change at this juncture
and he's fired over the corner and you need your defender to take charge
looks promising this excellent defending
half an hour remaining then
oliver norwood
a move of promise on the flank
that's a nice looking ball and the keeper
certainly didn't want to gamble with that on the corner it'll
over it be i must admit i thought he was going to score with that header yeah it was a quality
cross and he gets up well and it's just wide for chelsea coming off the pitch and they're seventeen
timo verna
showing a real will to win the ball reddit superbly to take back possession
norwood
lundstrom and given away
tremendous intuition to win it back and it's a matter of what occurs in the final 15 minutes
and the referee felt he had to blow the whistle well they've decided to make a change
not messing around with that clearance
mount marcos alonso well no stopping him
intercepting it intelligently
a real difficulty keeping the ball
and the cross is very much on conte
terrific block there
well if only he had time just run slightly better
offside and it is substitution time at this juncture not just from one side but from both
another perfect position to read it
and he did what he had to do defensively minutes of added time here
osborne now mcgoldrick
they get forward but time is very much against them here ball's gone can they take advantage
well they can say a big thank you to the goalkeeper that was
inspirational well that's as good as a goal at the other end brilliant save from the keeper
the corner played into the box
and the final whistle the cup issue is settled a story of one side celebrating and the other
distraught and lee memories are being made yeah absolutely it doesn't matter how much
money you've got in the bank players will always look back at moments like these these
moments where you pick trophies up and win medals absolutely brilliant for this group of players
yeah you can see what it means to this tight-knit team real solidarity
well it's these moments derek and you get your hands on the silverware
and that little medal that goes around your neck might seem small now but you look back
at that show your grandkids absolutely superb memories these players will have at this game
it's a special moment in the career of any footballer and now for the trophy lift itself
the cup winners
yeah it's been a long goal road to get to this point they're going to celebrate now
and certainly celebrate long into the night i think there's always the element of chance
in a cup competition but my goodness they've taken the rough with this move