A goal each by Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri took Manchester City to the final of the FA Cup at the expense of Chelsea who strongly feel that they were robbed of the tie by match officials.
It does not rain, it pours whenever Chelsea get knocked out of a competition. There is almost always a big drama whenever the Blues bow out of the competition which is why watching their games is just too exciting for a neutral.
On Sunday, it was the same case as Rafael Benitez bade goodbye to another title winning opportunity with Chelsea. The Europa Cup remains his only chance of winning silverware with Chelsea, before he is asked to clear his desk at the end of the season.
The FA Cup was the surest route to salvation for a Chelsea side that seems to be a shadow of its former self. Since 1988, when Wimbledon beat Liverpool, David has never defeated Goliath in the final of the FA Cup. And it might be a little longer for this to happen when Wigan take on City.
The performance of match referee, Chris Foy brought back painful memories of Tom Henning Ovrebo , who officiated the Champions League match between Chelsea and Barcelona in 2009. The Blues were then controversially knocked out of the competition with a lot of decisions going against them. The FA cup semi-final on Sunday foretold the same story, with the Blues once again at the receiving end.
Sergio Aguero should have been given his marching orders for a vicious two footed tackle on David Luiz , his captain Vincent Kompany deserved the same fate as he denied Fernando Torres an equalising goal scoring opportunity in plain view of the referee.
Since then, many Chelsea fans and players have voiced their opinion regarding the performance of match officials. Indeed, the match officials’ performances were nowhere near the professional level and one would agree with Chelsea that they were denied a chance to get back in the game courtesy of very poor decisions by the referee.
However, one should not ignore the fact that Manchester City’s performance at Wembley was excellent while the same could not be said of Chelsea. The Blues were average at best in the first hour of the game and paid for it. Once they did find their feet, bad refereeing denied them a chance of getting back into the game.
This season, City have been very predictable but they were full of ideas on Sunday night. The same cannot be said of Chelsea who despite boasting some of the most talented players in the continent, lacked imagination.
Although he might not ask people to like him or support him, Rafael Benitez has every right to call for better defending. Yaya Toure was simply allowed to bully his way in midfield with little resistance while Samir Nasri, a player who has been criticised a lot this season, revelled in the absence of David Silva.
Before the arrival of Torres, Demba Ba cut a lonesome figure. However, the Senegalese scored yet another spectacular goal which gave Chelsea a chance to get back into the game.
Many people still feel that Chelsea were robbed off a place in the final. However, admitting to this notion would be unfair to City who performed brilliantly and could have even ended the semi-final in the first half had they been a little more clinical.
Regardless of how nasty the tackle on Luiz was and how the referee missed a Belgian manhandling a Spaniard, it was clear for all there to see that the best side had won the game and saying that Chelsea were robbed, would be an excuse for hiding 60 minutes of dull and uninspired football played by the vanquish.
"In the first half it was difficult, but the team come back in the second half and we showed what Chelsea is about," said David Luiz.
"We showed we are a big club, we created a lot of chances and their goalkeeper did well in some big moments. Now we have to finish as high as possible in the Premier League and try to win the Europa League. We are confident moving forward. I am always positive."
The Brazilian international was on the receiving end of a brutal tackle but chose to take it to the chin and move one.
It is high time for the rest of the Chelsea players to follow the defender’s lead and salvage whatever that is left in their season.
On Sunday, it was the same case as Rafael Benitez bade goodbye to another title winning opportunity with Chelsea. The Europa Cup remains his only chance of winning silverware with Chelsea, before he is asked to clear his desk at the end of the season.
The FA Cup was the surest route to salvation for a Chelsea side that seems to be a shadow of its former self. Since 1988, when Wimbledon beat Liverpool, David has never defeated Goliath in the final of the FA Cup. And it might be a little longer for this to happen when Wigan take on City.
The performance of match referee, Chris Foy brought back painful memories of Tom Henning Ovrebo , who officiated the Champions League match between Chelsea and Barcelona in 2009. The Blues were then controversially knocked out of the competition with a lot of decisions going against them. The FA cup semi-final on Sunday foretold the same story, with the Blues once again at the receiving end.
Sergio Aguero should have been given his marching orders for a vicious two footed tackle on David Luiz , his captain Vincent Kompany deserved the same fate as he denied Fernando Torres an equalising goal scoring opportunity in plain view of the referee.
Since then, many Chelsea fans and players have voiced their opinion regarding the performance of match officials. Indeed, the match officials’ performances were nowhere near the professional level and one would agree with Chelsea that they were denied a chance to get back in the game courtesy of very poor decisions by the referee.
However, one should not ignore the fact that Manchester City’s performance at Wembley was excellent while the same could not be said of Chelsea. The Blues were average at best in the first hour of the game and paid for it. Once they did find their feet, bad refereeing denied them a chance of getting back into the game.
This season, City have been very predictable but they were full of ideas on Sunday night. The same cannot be said of Chelsea who despite boasting some of the most talented players in the continent, lacked imagination.
Although he might not ask people to like him or support him, Rafael Benitez has every right to call for better defending. Yaya Toure was simply allowed to bully his way in midfield with little resistance while Samir Nasri, a player who has been criticised a lot this season, revelled in the absence of David Silva.
Before the arrival of Torres, Demba Ba cut a lonesome figure. However, the Senegalese scored yet another spectacular goal which gave Chelsea a chance to get back into the game.
Many people still feel that Chelsea were robbed off a place in the final. However, admitting to this notion would be unfair to City who performed brilliantly and could have even ended the semi-final in the first half had they been a little more clinical.
Regardless of how nasty the tackle on Luiz was and how the referee missed a Belgian manhandling a Spaniard, it was clear for all there to see that the best side had won the game and saying that Chelsea were robbed, would be an excuse for hiding 60 minutes of dull and uninspired football played by the vanquish.
"In the first half it was difficult, but the team come back in the second half and we showed what Chelsea is about," said David Luiz.
"We showed we are a big club, we created a lot of chances and their goalkeeper did well in some big moments. Now we have to finish as high as possible in the Premier League and try to win the Europa League. We are confident moving forward. I am always positive."
The Brazilian international was on the receiving end of a brutal tackle but chose to take it to the chin and move one.
It is high time for the rest of the Chelsea players to follow the defender’s lead and salvage whatever that is left in their season.
