One of Chelsea or Crystal Palace will face Liverpool in the final of the FA Cup at Wembley on May 14. It comes after the Reds managed to overcome Manchester City in a whirlwind first half display.
Centre-back Ibrahima Konate opened the scoring from a corner kick, before Sadio Mane managed to pounce on a mistake from City goalkeeper Zack Steffen to bundle the ball home. The Senegalese winger capped off a dream opening half for his side, finishing coolly from inside the box to give his side a three-goal buffer.
Pep Guardiola’s side responded quickly after the break, Jack Grealish scoring less than two minutes into the half. It took until the late moments to pull another back as Bernardo Silva scored a repeat of the earlier finish, but it wasn't enough as the game ended 3-2 to Liverpool.
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That means that both the Blues and the Eagles know who awaits them next month, but most importantly they must overcome one another to earn that cup final day. Thomas Tuchel has already spoken about the challenge of Crystal Palace in his pre-match press conference and said: “It is a huge opportunity to play at Wembley.
“We need to be very well prepared to control the counter-attacks, the individual quality, the dribbles and play with the same level of intensity. They can create a certain atmosphere, especially at Selhurst Park but also at Wembley."
If the German coach is set to meet his compatriot once again at Wembley, it would be a rematch of the Carabao Cup final back in February. It was a hectic game with plenty of chances, but it lacked that finishing touch when it counted.
The match then went to extra-time and penalties, where goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was called upon again after previous penalty heroics. It wasn’t to be for him though as the Spaniard missed the deciding spot kick.
If the tie is to be set up, they will be hoping to avenge the chance they had to win the League Cup that day. However, before then they have the stern task of overcoming Crystal Palace, something that a lot of clubs have found hard this season.
