Manchester 1 London 5

Semi Final

Manchester United v Chelsea

Sunday 19th July 6.00pm

We arrived at a virtual Wembley stadium in plenty of time, settling into our comfortable armchairs with drinks and snacks nearby.

For this game, we chose the simulate crowd option on Sky, recalling the awesome atmosphere of our last visit to Wembley, the Checkatrade Trophy final in 2019.

Most punters expected United to be the better side, as recent form suggested, but it was the London club who dominated the opening stages. Chelsea were quick in attack, commanding in midfield and relaxed in defence. This was mainly due to the lacklustre performance of the Manchester players, who took half an hour to make their first advance on the Chelsea area.

In the 38th minute, Mount broke down the left for the Blues, sending a great cross to Zouma who headed goalward. To the relief of De Gea and his defenders, the ball drifted harmlessly over the crossbar.

Shortly after, both Maguire and Bailly attempted to clear the ball, resulting in a crunching clash of heads. Both dropped to the turf and, while Maguire managed to show some semblance of recovery, Bailly lay prone. He was clearly seriously hurt and had to be stretchered off the field. As he left, a swiftly applied bandage allowed Maguire to continue.

There had been a protracted delay due to the injury, so it was in the '56th' minute of the first half that the deadlock was broken.

Azpilicueta carried the ball down the right flank before playing it precisely into the path of Giroud, who flicked it towards goal. It appeared that De Gea would save comfortably, but his attempt was clumsy and the ball spun away from him, into the back of the net. 0 - 1.

That was the last meaningful action in the first period and, after nearly an hour, the referee blew for the interval.

Half Time Manchester United 0 - 1 Chelsea

United had been enjoying a run of success in recent weeks, playing attractive football, and were favourites to progress to the final. We assumed the first half performance was a glitch and, following a pep talk from Solskjaer, they would make amends.

This, however, proved not to be the case as Chelsea doubled their lead two minutes after the restart. Mount intercepted a pass from Williams, rifled the ball from 25 yards and, despite De Gea getting his hands to it, it squirmed through his grip.

Although he is undoubtedly one of the best and most reliable goalkeepers in the World, the United stopper was having a very bad day. 0 - 2.

As the second half developed, the Red Devils began to create mischief for the Chelsea back line, certainly more than they had previously. They pressed, seeking an opening and a chance to reduce their arrears, and looked a far better team.

With about 15 minutes to play, Chelsea launched another attack and, this time, De Gea saved well. The ball was recycled down the left by the Blues, through Mount, who angled it towards Rudiger in the United box. Maguire attacked the cross but, in another huge stroke of misfortune, only succeeded in turning it onto his own net. 0 - 3.

Despite the improvement from the Manchester side, Chelsea fully deserved this lead for overall effort, tactics and skill displayed.

United did get some late consolation as, in the 84th minute, Martial jinked into the opposition area, where he was clumsily tripped by Hudson-Odoi. Fernandes took charge of the spot kick and, with a strange hopping motion, slotted the ball home. 1 - 3.

There was little time for the Reds to do much more damage and it will be Chelsea making the short return trip for the Final.

Full Time Manchester United 1 - 3 Chelsea

In the other semi-final, Arsenal overcame Manchester City 2 - 0 to set up a London derby. Good times for London, disappointment for Manchester.

Ratings:

Food 10/10

Facilities 10/10

Atmosphere and Entertainment 8/10 (Too one-sided in the first half, but the goals were funny to watch. Unless you are David De Gea.)

Attendance 0

Round trip 0 miles