Result: Chelsea oust Tottenham Hotspur to reach FA Cup final
Chelsea have booked their place in the final of the FA Cup courtesy of a 4-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling semi-final clash at Wembley this evening.
Spurs twice came from behind against their Premier League title rivals as goals from Harry Kane and Dele Alli cancelled out a first-half Willian brace.
However, Eden Hazard restored Chelsea's lead for a third time with 15 minutes remaining before Nemanja Matic capped off the scoring with a stunning fourth, setting up a showdown with either Arsenal or Manchester City in next month's final.
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The Blues had seen their lead over Spurs at the top of the Premier League table cut from 10 points to four over the course of the month, and with one eye perhaps on the title race Antonio Conte left the likes of Hazard and Diego Costa on the bench
Spurs, on the other hand, were close to full strength as they looked to improve their disappointing record at Wembley this season, but their quest to do so got off to the worst possible start when they fell behind after less than five minutes.
Toby Alderweireld's foul on Pedro earned him an early yellow card, but there was worse punishment to come for the Belgian as Willian subsequently buried the free kick into the corner on goalkeeper Hugo Lloris's side.
The goal marked a bright start to the match for the Blues, but Spurs soon settled into it and were level by the 18th minute when Kane stooped to meet Christian Eriksen's delivery at the near post and flicked a clever backward header into the far corner.
Despite the absorbing nature of the match, clear chances were relatively hard to come by in the first half and it was not until nine minutes before the interval that either side next came close when Eric Dier flicked Jan Vertonghen's deep cross narrowly past the post.
© SilverHub
Spurs were just about on top as Thibaut Courtois made a routine save to deny Eriksen's long-range effort moments later, but it was Chelsea who took the lead against the run of play with just three minutes remaining in the half.
It came in controversial fashion as Victor Moses went down under the challenge of Son Heung-min inside the penalty area and, while the South Korean was ill-judged to go to ground, replays suggested that Moses was his way down before the tackle arrived.
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