A routine 2-0 victory for Chelsea over Crystal Palace has confirmed them as FA Cup finalists. With that, a season that promised much but has delivered little beyond the vanity silverware of the European Super Cup and World Club Championship now could finish with something of substance.
Whether Roman Abramovich will still own the club by the time the final comes around on 14 May remains to be seen. But nevertheless, this is unequivocally his era of Chelsea, in which time they have won the competition five times. Doing so a sixth time, by beating Liverpool no less, will be regarded by some, not least the Russian himself, as a silver lining to a dark few months for the club.
