19th July, 2020
Chelsea booked a rematch Sunday with Arsenal at the FA Cup final, after outclassing Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley.
The Blues have United keeper, David De Gea to thank for making the deserved victory so easy.
De Gea had a day to forget as Olivier Giroud and Mason Mount scored via his slack goalkeeping.
Giroud ensured Chelsea deservedly led with the help of De Gea’s error at the end of a half in which United lost Eric Bailly to a serious-looking heading injury.
De Gea was at fault again almost immediately after the restart when Mount doubled Chelsea’s lead with a shot a keeper of any level would hope to save.
The Spanish keeper was not entirely convincing when Harry Maguire put into his own net to compound a miserable day for the Manchester team.
Despite a late penalty from Bruno Fernandes, Frank Lampard’s side had a comfortable ride to Wembley to face Arsenal in a rematch of the 2016-17 final.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had masterminded three wins over Chelsea this season, but his decision to match their 3-5-2 system – a tactic that yielded success at Stamford Bridge in February – did not pay dividends.
His selection of De Gea over regular cup keeper Sergio Romero also backfired.
For Lampard, he can now end his first campaign as boss with silverware, although Mikel Arteta will be equally desperate to land a maiden trophy as Gunners head coach.
The showdown is slated for 1 August at Wembley.
*With match report by Livescore.com