FA CUP: Chelsea set to face Liverpool at finals after a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace

With a hard-fought 2-0 win against Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Chelsea advanced to their third straight FA Cup final, setting up a confrontation with quadruple-chasing Liverpool.

Thomas Tuchel’s side won the semi-final thanks to goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount in the second half, securing a spot in the showpiece match on May 14 against Liverpool, who beat Manchester City 3-2 on Saturday.

Chelsea will make atonement for finishing second to Leicester City and Arsenal in the last two seasons, as well as avenging their League Cup final loss to Liverpool in February, in their fifth FA Cup final appearance in six years.

“I’m delighted to be involved in yet another FA Cup final,” Tuchel stated. “It’s a massive contest.”

Chelsea ultimately broke Palace’s tough resistance in the 65th minute through replacement Loftus-Cheek, who had replaced the injured Mateo Kovacic midway through the first half.

Loftus-Cheek scored his first goal of the season after a cross from the right was deflected to him by former Palace loanee Kai Havertz. The 26-year-old hammered a ferocious shot that hit opposing defender Joachim Andersen and flew into the net.

Mount clinched Chelsea’s triumph with a critical second just over 10 minutes later, playing Timo Werner’s ball from the edge of the box past Andersen with his first touch and beating goalkeeper Jack Butland with his second.

Until Loftus-Cheek broke the deadlock, Patrick Vieira’s Palace had done a good job of containing Chelsea.

Wilfried Zaha, Palace’s talisman, was unable to get past his marker Reece James and make an impression, while Eberechi Eze was a poor substitute for on-loan midfielder Connor Gallagher, who was unable to play against his original club due to injury.

Chelsea, who have won the FA Cup eight times, needed the win after losing in the Champions League quarter-finals to Real Madrid on Tuesday, where the holders won the second leg 3-2 after extra time but were ousted 5-4 on aggregate

It also keeps them in contention to cap a difficult season with a trophy when they face Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp’s side again next month, after losing 11-10 on penalties in the League Cup final in February after a 0-0 stalemate after extra time.

“I believe there was a slight deflection, but I’ll take it… Loftus-Cheek said of his goal, “It’s long overdue.” “With injuries and moving out on loan, it’s been a difficult journey for me.”

“Simple as that, we want Liverpool back.” The Carabao Cup final was a wonderful game that could have gone either way, in my opinion. We’re excited for it, and perhaps we’ll be able to avenge ourselves.”