Another full day of football was cluttered with goals. There were big wins for big teams in an emotional day across England.
At Wembley Stadium, Chelsea and Southampton had split emotions. For Chelsea, it was a joyous day as Antonio Conte’s men move on to the FA Cup final. For Mark Hughes and Southampton, the loss means the end of what could have been a story for the ages for Saints fans. Now, they will put every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears into remaining in the Premier League.
Chelsea 2-0 Southampton
The Saints held the Blues scoreless in the first 45. They looked like they would give Chelsea a run for their money. The second half proved that theory incorrect. Olivier Giroud pounced early in the second half to open the scoring in the game. The Frenchmen continues to prove his haters wrong as he scores another big goal in a big moment. This one was his third in the last three. All three of those goals are against Southampton.
Chelsea storm out of the break as Olivier Giroud scores the opening goal just 30 seconds into the 2nd half! pic.twitter.com/KCGvlfsguY
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 22, 2018
Conte’s men held strong defensively and were able to keep it at a 1-0 lead throughout. Alvaro Morata extended the lead when he came on for the first goalscorer Giroud in the 80th minute. 2 minutes later, Morata scored and gave each of Chelsea’s strikers a goal on their way to the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Instant impact! Alvaro Morata comes off the bench to double Chelsea's lead with a header (obviously). pic.twitter.com/TsraN1hbFK
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 22, 2018
This is the Blues 13th appearance in the FA Cup final and second consecutive. The clash with former manager Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils will be the 3rd FA Cup final between the two sides and the first since 2007. Jose Mourinho guided Chelsea to a 1-0 win in extra time 11 years ago at Wembley. Didier Drogba scored the winner in the 116th minute.
The FA Cup final will take place on Saturday, May 19th.