Manchester City have reached the FA Cup final after they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley thanks to a late Bernardo Silva strike.
Real Madrid eliminated Pep Guardiola’s team from the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday night, but Silva’s goal kept them from needing to go into extra time.
The fact that Mauricio Pochettino’s team let the game progress to that point without seizing the lead will make them quite angry with themselves.
Nicolas Jackson had a good opportunity of having a brace because they produced a lot more opportunities.
Cole Palmer, who has been playing brilliantly, attempted to give Chelsea the lead by getting off to a fast start against his old team.
He produced a good combination with Noni Madueke down the right and the 21-year-old easily got past Rodri before squaring the ball into the far corner, but Stefan Ortega made a save.
City had few chances in the first half but their best came after a Kevin De Bruyne trademark through ball as he split Chelsea’s defence.
He picked out Phil Foden who could have struck the ball first time but decided to take the ball around Dorde Petrovic and subsequently the angle tightened.
He then played the ball across the box and Marc Cucurella cleared the danger.
Chelsea was once more superior in the second half but stumbled at the most crucial moment.
In less than a minute, Jackson had two incredible opportunities. The first came when he was passed through one-on-one with Ortega, but he fired the ball straight at the City keeper.
The Senegalese striker then headed inside the six-yard area, straight at Ortega once more.But as they so frequently do, Silva’s brilliant finish at the back post gave Guardiola’s team the victory this time.
Once more, De Bruyne was the driving force behind City’s success as his low cross was misdirected straight into the Portuguese midfielder’s path.
