Chelsea FC failed to cap off their domestic campaign with a trophy in Frank Lampard’s first season in charge at the club, with the Blues crumbling to 2-1 defeat to city rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Wednesday evening. Match referee Anthony Taylor’s actions on the pitch caused widespread rage among the Chelsea FC supporters, who felt extremely hard done by the official’s actions at the Wembley Stadium.
The Blues fall to defeat in the final. 😔
Credit to the lads for a fantastic cup run, it just wasn't our day today.#HeadsUpFACupFinal pic.twitter.com/BoCl2X7UVv
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 1, 2020
The Gunners did manage to get a good start to the game on the attacking front, with club talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s header went wide off the goal after just three minutes since kickoff. On the other end of the pitch, Mason Mount’s effort on goal from long range was saved comfortably by Arsenal goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
The Blues, however, went ahead in only the fifth minute of the game through a slick attacking move. A sublime backheel pass by Olivier Giroud found the in-form Christian Pulisic who made the calmest of finishes past Emi Martinez in goal to give his side the lead.
Another chance fell the American’s way only a few minutes later, but this time Martinez’s save proved equal to Pulisic’s strike. On the other end of the pitch, a shot curled into the top left corner by Nicolas Pepe was deemed offside, due to Aubameyang having strayed in an offside position during the buildup of the attacking move.
Aubameyang again found himself amongst the thick of things in the game when he was brought down in the box by Chelsea FC skipper Cesar Azpilicueta, thus earning a penalty. The 30-year old did not hesitate in converting from the resulting spot-kick, sending the Blues’ shot-stopper Willy Cabellero the wrong way to level the game for his side.
Frank Lampard’s side then took a more attacking approach to their game, with Christian Pulisic threatening to add one more to his goalscoring tally for the season. The American raced past the Arsenal defense before curling his effort wide of the goal.
However, a brilliant solo effort by Aubameyang proved far too much for the Chelsea FC defense in the final third of the game. The Gunners skipper moved past Kurt Zouma with ease before making a clever dink into the back of the net, leaving Cabellero in no man’s land. Aubameyang’s second goal of the evening meant that Arsenal now had the lead going into the last 23 minutes of normal time.
The Gunners took to a very defensive approach following their second goal, and Chelsea FC could not find a way past the Arsenal players holed up in their own half. Moreover, Mateo Kovacic’s controversial sending off meant that the Blues would finish the game with 10 men in a situation that required them to pull one back to level the scoreline.
However, Chelsea FC’s attempts to turn the game back into their favor proved futile and the final whistle meant that Arsenal had won a record 14th FA Cup title, ensuring qualification for next season’s Europa League in the process.
MATCH STATS
SCORE: 2-1
Possession: Arsenal FC – 44% Chelsea FC- 56%
Yellow Cards: Arsenal FC – 1 Chelsea FC – 5
Shots: Arsenal FC – 11 Chelsea FC – 9
Offsides: Arsenal FC –3 Chelsea FC – 0
