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Chelsea made to battle against Sheff Utd but move into FA Cup semis
Chelsea 2-0 Sheffield United: Blues into FA Cup semi-finals after win at Stamford Bridge
Last updated on8 minutes ago8 minutes ago.From the sectionFA Cup61
Eight-time winners Chelsea moved into the FA Cup semi-finals with a hard-fought home win against Sheffield United.
The Blues, beaten finalists last season, went ahead in fortunate circumstances as Ben Chilwell’s low cross was steered into his own net by Blades midfielder Oliver Norwood.
Christian Pulisic was twice denied by away goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Callum Hudson-Odoi shot over as the hosts looked to finish the game off.
David McGoldrick wasted a glorious chance to equalise as he sent a close-range diving header wide following John Lundstram’s right-wing cross, before home goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga saved from Oliver McBurnie.
With Sheffield United pushing for a goal to take it into extra time, Chelsea broke in injury time and Hakim Ziyech scored their second with a low strike to take them into the last four for the fourth time in five seasons.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley over the weekend of 17-18 April and the draw will be shown live on BBC One – during half-time of Sunday’s quarter-final between Leicester City and Manchester United (kick-off 17:00 GMT).
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Blues back to Wembley
Chelsea lost 2-1 to Arsenal in the 2020 final in August – as Frank Lampard failed to win a trophy in his season and a half in charge.
His last game as manager was the 3-1 fourth-round victory over Luton in January and new boss Thomas Tuchel has steered them to wins over Barnsley and Sheffield United to send them back to Wembley.
This victory continues their fantastic record under the German, who is yet to lose in his 14 games, has lifted them from ninth to fourth in the Premier League and also taken them into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Before the game at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea had caused confusion by publishing the wrong team on their Twitter account.
When they corrected it, it showed they had made nine changes from the side that began Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid as a number of squad players were given the chance to impress Tuchel.
They went ahead in the 24th minute when the unfortunate Norwood steered the ball into his own goal from Chilwell’s cross and were only denied a second when Pulisic’s shot was blocked by Ramsdale.
Pulisic, starting for only the third time under Tuchel, almost scored in the early stages of the second half when he superbly dribbled past two Blades defenders but was denied by Ramsdale, before firing the rebound over from a tight angle.
Chelsea then had to show their defensive strength for a spell in the second half but Ziyech scored for the second game in a row to seal the victory late on.
More to follow.
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