Tieleman's long ranger hands Leicester a first ever FA Cup triumph

Tieleman's long ranger hands Leicester a first ever FA Cup triumph

 

Youri Tielemans wheels off in celebration after firing Leicester in front at Wembley. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

The cross was fast, it was furious, club legend Wes Morgan’s attempted clearance bounced off former Leicester defender Ben Chilwell and straight past Kasper Schmeichel, said to be 1-1 and Chelsea players wheeled off in celebrations, laid siege on the camera at the corner flag but there’s something called VAR.

The FA Cup is never short of magic, dumbfounding the best of bookmakers and sending crowds into delirium, the latest instalment of the Emirates FA Cup pitched two top four sides against each other for once in a long time and it was Leicester against Chelsea.

While the cup final was the subject of the day, both have other worries elsewhere but landing this would mean so much to either manager as it would be the first in the land for Thomas Tuchel who joined Chelsea in January and for Brendan Rodgers who was close to the premier league title in 2013.

Johnny Evans was passed fit so he started alongside Caglar Soyuncu and Wesley Fofana but James Maddison was named on the bench by the Leicester manager; Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech both got the nod for Chelsea with Pulisic and Kai Havertz missing out and Kepa Arizabalaga was handed a surprise start ahead of Edouard Mendy who also sat out the loss to Arsenal in midweek.

It was end to end at the start but Chelsea soon exerted dominance and they had a flurry of chances, all missed by Werner and Mason Mount.

Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was called to duty a couple of times and he was up to it but at the other end, Jamie Vardy at 34 was a hell of nuisance for Antonio Rudiger and Co to deal with and his influence grew as the game wore on.

There was a moment of urgency for Rodgers as Johnny Evans pulled his hamstring again and Marc Albrighton came on for him, keeping the defensive shape while Belgian Timothy Casthagne moved to the middle of the defense.

The half ended goalless with both sides going close but not getting past either goalkeeper. Leicester took the lead midway into the second half and it was in a spectacular fashion.

Ayoze Perez blocked off a clearance, replays showed it bounced off his arm but off his knee so it wasn’t illegal, ball landed at the feet of Youri Tielemans and no Chelsea player got across him, he took two touches, looked up and fired on to the top left corner, beating Arrizabalaga for 1-0.

Leicester were in dreamland, the goal spur them on and Vardy could have doubled it when played in by in-form striker Kelechi Iheanacho; Chelsea responded with changes, Cristian Pulisic replaced the disappointing Ziyech and former Leicester boy Chilwell replaced Alonso.

Chelsea thought they were level as a goal bound header was well saved by Schmeichel and then another fine save from the Dane as the game wore on.

Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson Odoi and Olivier Giroud were introduced and with just a minute remaining on the regulation time, Chelsea were supposedly level, substitute Wes Morgan clearing off Chilwell and the ball was in the Leicester net, however a VAR review revealed that there was an offside in the build up.

Chelsea threw everything forward but it was Leicester that will win their first ever FA Cup, building on the sensational title they miraculously won in 2015.

The red ribbon of Arsenal changed to blue and gold, etching Leicester's name on the trophy for the first time ever as the 44th team to win the FA Cup.

Chelsea 0-1 Leicester: Watch full match highlights