Chelsea have sealed their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup courtesy of a 1-0 victory over 10-man Manchester United at Stamford Bridge this evening.
The visitors were forced to play the majority of the game with a numerical disadvantage after Ander Herrera was sent off with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, and N'Golo Kante's second-half strike proved to be enough for the Blues to reach Wembley.
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Having seen Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all book their places in the last four over the weekend, both Chelsea and United named strong sides as they looked to complete a star-studded semi-final lineup.
It was United who started the match on top, and they had a half-chance to break the deadlock inside two minutes when Marcos Rojo escaped his marker from a corner only to send his header well off target.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan then dragged a low shot wide of the target as United continued to probe for an early breakthrough, but the visitors needed David de Gea on top form to keep the scores level moments later as Chelsea suddenly exploded into life.
Eden Hazard was the catalyst for the hosts with a turn past Chris Smalling before darting past another defender on his way into the box, but his deflected strike across goal was turned wide by the fingertips of De Gea.
The Spaniard made an even better save from the resulting corner after the ball had fallen to Gary Cahill, whose low shot from close range was kept out by a stunning stop from the United goalkeeper.
United's attempts to stop Hazard by whatever means necessary saw the Belgian win a growing number of free kicks, and Herrera picked up his first yellow card for a block on the winger after 20 minutes.
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Hazard then fired a wild effort high and wide of the near post before being involved in the major talking point of the first half as referee Michael Oliver seemingly ran out of patience for the number of fouls on the Chelsea number 10.
Oliver gave a final warning to Phil Jones after he came through the back of Hazard, only for Herrera to trip the Belgian seconds later and earn himself a red card via two yellows.
Jose Mourinho immediately sacrificed Mkhitaryan in favour of bringing on Marouane Fellaini, but the United boss was soon involved in a touchline row with his Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte following another late challenge from the visitors.
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While Mourinho and Conte were going toe to toe on the sidelines, Chelsea forged another shooting opportunity through Victor Moses, but the wing-back could not find the target with his powerful strike.
The 10 men of United were able to see out an increasingly lively first half without conceding, but it took just six minutes of the second half for Chelsea to find the breakthrough via an unlikely source as Kante picked out the bottom corner from just outside the penalty area.
It was Kante's second goal for the club, both of which have come against United, but the visitors should have levelled things up just before the hour mark when Marcus Rashford - something of a surprise starter having suffered with illness in the build-up to the match - capitalised on a David Luiz error before getting the better of Cahill and firing his finish straight at Thibaut Courtois.
Chelsea were soon back on the front foot, though, and they hit the visitors on the break from the resulting corner to win one of their own, from which Diego Costa escaped his marker only to nod a clear chance off target.
Willian was the next to come close for the hosts with a curling effort that flew narrowly over the crossbar, and the Brazilian stung the palms of De Gea with less than 20 minutes remaining as Chelsea went in search of a two-goal cushion.
The second goal should have arrived shortly afterwards as Willian turned creator, playing a low ball into the middle which Costa failed to connect with when he should have scored.
United could only muster a tame Paul Pogba shot in their attempts to force extra time in the closing stages, and it could have been 2-0 in the end when De Gea made one final stop to deny Cesc Fabregas following a quick counter-attack in stoppage time.
Chelsea were forced to settle for a one-goal winning margin, though, booking their place in the semi-final of the competition where they will face Tottenham at Wembley.
Holders United crash out, meanwhile, falling to just their second defeat in their last 29 matches to extend their winless run against Chelsea to 12 games.
Barney Corkhill
