CHELSEA conjured an FA Cup fairytale with a heartwarming victory for sporting integrity.
Romelu Lukaku, the last big signing of the Roman Abramovich era, gave the outgoing owner a perfect farewell gift by grabbing the opener.
Goalscorers Hakim Ziyech and Romelu Lukaku settled the game for Chelsea in the first half Credit: Reuters
Mason Mount assisted both Chelsea goals Credit: AFP
Lukaku scored his first goal since the Club World Cup final last month Credit: Getty And birthday boy Hakim Ziyech made it a double celebration by firing in the second goal that all but killed off the match with an hour to go.
The away fans, cruelly limited in number by the effect of sanctions on Abramovich, had the last laugh as they warmed up for another trip to Wembley.
Middlesbrough were punished on the pitch for making the Blues look bad in the build-up.
Having beaten Manchester United and Tottenham in previous rounds, they were unable to exact revenge for defeats by the Blues in the finals of the 1997 FA Cup and 1998 League Cup.
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Chelsea bidder Nick Candy EXCLUSIVE, Tuchel distances himself from FA Cup plea Boro failed to heed the warning that came after only two minutes, when Mason Mount escaped down the right and his cross only just eluded Christian Pulisic.
In the 15th minute, Chelsea broke the press deftly, Mount was free again and this time Lukaku converted from close range, thanks to some dodgy defending by Dael Fry.
Lukaku barely celebrated, but the few hundred visiting fans who had been allowed to attend were loving it, singing about 1997 FA Cup Final hero Roberto Di Matteo.
They were cheering again on the half hour when Neil Taylor showed Ziyech the inside and the Morrocan hit a firm shot that, although swerving, seemed to beat Joe Lumley a bit too easily.
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It would have been 3-0 at half-time if Anfernee Dijksteel had not cleared Lukaku’s shot off the line.
Boro’s only real threat had come from Marcus Tavernier set pieces and they were well off the pace.
The second half was pretty much a non-event. There were few chances at either end and the home side never really looked likely to find a way back into the game.
Josh Coburn, the matchwinner against Spurs, at least forced a decent save from Edouard Mendy late on.
But for all the chaos off the field, Chelsea remain an efficient machine on it.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
