Schmeichel & Tielemans win Leicester’s first FA Cup

Competing head to head for the top four next Tuesday, Chelsea and Leicester had a trophy on the line today, with the Foxes giving themselves a chance at a first-ever FA Cup in a long and storied history, while Chelsea had their shot at a ninth.

The Action: After some competitive meetings between the teams in recent history, the first half was surprisingly low on quality, without a shot on target from either side, but Leicester’s first and only of the game was one certainly worth waiting for.

Finding space behind Jorginho after an hour, Youri Tielemans was given decades of time as Chelsea’s back three backed off, and the Belgian didn’t waste the gift, firing an all-time great final strike straight into the top corner past Kepa who had no chance.

The game then became all about the Foxes’ captain for the day, Kasper Schmeichel, who first made an incredible fingertip save on a perfectly placed Ben Chilwell header, before stunning the Wembley crowd by denying a Mason Mount effort that was speeding towards the back of the net.

Brendan Rodgers then made one of the most bizarre decisions of his management career, bringing on an ageing Wes Morgan with eight minutes to play, and soon after Chelsea thought they had earned extra time.

Chilwell deflected in his saved shot, only for his epic celebrations to be denied by VAR soon after, allowing Leicester to hold on for a famous win.

The Big Picture: While Chelsea’s confidence will be knocked ahead of their Champions League final against Manchester City, they’ve got even bigger problems beforehand, with another crunch top four meeting against Leicester in the Premier League on Tuesday.

Man of the Match: Kasper Schmeichel, while Tielemans goal was enough to win any Man of the Match award, Schmeichel outdid him twice with two world-class stops.

Moment of the Match: Schmeichel had absolutely no right to save Mount’s effort that was waiting to hit the back of the net, reading the strike perfectly before using wrists made of steel.