CHELSEA have booked their spot in the FA Cup final having comfortably dealt with Crystal Palace at Wembley.
The Blues will be participating in their third consecutive FA Cup final where Liverpool awaits.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn has admitted that the German giants cannot afford Erling Haaland.
Which paves the way for Chelsea to bolster their striking options with Romelu Lukaku’s exit looming.
And the new ownership team are set to be revealed next week.
Stephen Pagliuca has announced NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum as co-managing partner in his bid, with John Terry also part of the takeover attempt.
Also on his team are ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger & journalist Willow Bay, Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin & businesswoman Elaine Saverin; B Capital co-founder Raj Ganguly.
Keep up to date with all of the latest updates from the takeover in our live blog…
Prem date moved
Chelsea’s Premier League match with Manchester United has been moved after the Blues reached the FA Cup Final.
The West Londoners will return to Wembley stadium on May 14 to face Liverpool.
But the game means Chelsea will be unable to fulfil their original league date against United.
The two teams were due to play at Old Trafford on Sunday May 15, which is the day after the final.
But it has now been confirmed the ficture will be moved and thus the Red Devils will host Thomas Tuchel’s men on Thursday April 28.
And the match will kick off at 7.45pm, with live TV coverage remaining on Sky Sports
Tuchel on Loftus-Cheek
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reiterated his instruction to Ruben Loftus-Cheek insisting he needs to show more.
Tuchel said: “Hopefully a big moment because it was a big moment.
“He’s normally a clam and quiet guy, but to see him like this – jumping and celebrating – is good.
“As I’ve said, we need to install this confidence into his body and game and these are the next steps for him.
“He needs to feel how much influence he can have, show everybody in the stadium the potential he has and not just to us on the training pitches”
Credit: GETTY IMAGES Tuchel on Kovacic injury
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel announced that Mateo Kovacic suffered an ankle injury and “it does not look so good”.
Tuchel said: “We went for Jorgi [Jorginho] in the mix as he was hungry to play this match.
“The season is not finished and we wanted to reward Jorgi and Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta] to stay part.
“Kova goes out. He is in pain and the ankle is swollen. It’s a huge ankle right now. It does not look so good but let’s wait for the examination.
More from Tuchel
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel added: “We can’t promise. All we can do now is to be well prepared because it will be another hard fight given their quality and run of form.
“It’s difficult to beat them but this is what the cup final is about, it’s about winning.
“It makes the season so much sweeter if you have a final you can win, but in a final two compete against each other and you can sometimes give your everything and it’s sometimes not enough”
Tuchel on Liverpool final
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel addressed the upcoming FA Cup Final against Liverpool, just a few months after an unsuccessful Carabao Cup Final.
Tuchel said: “We lost a final and we gave everything in that final. It was a big match that went until the last penalty.
“We were unlucky to lose it and of course, we want to turn things around.
“It will not give us the Carabao title back but it’s the FA Cup, it’s the most prestigious and traditional cup in the world. There are not a lot of bigger games to be part of”
More from Tuchel
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel opened up on the way he approached the FA Cup semi-final tactically.
Tuchel added: “Very solid, very serious. We had to take care of some things to control the counter-attacks before they even started. For that, we had to be disciplined and we had to close the spaces.
“We did not expect them to change their formation so there were not the spaces we thought we could explore. It was not maybe the most exciting game to watch but it was important to keep the discipline up.
“We did not lose the focus for a second. We tried to find different spaces in the second half to overload the middle and accelerate the game more and then it became more fluid. Then you have to covert the half chance or the chance to win it”
Credit: GETTY IMAGES Chelsea given Haaland boost
Bayern Munich have ruled out a move for Borussia Dortmund superstar and Chelsea transfer target Erling Haaland.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn admitted the German champions would love to sign Haaland.
But he admitted the Bavarians can’t afford Dortmund’s release clause for the star striker.
Kahn said: “Haaland? I don’t think we would be doing our job properly if we didn’t consider such a young striker.
“He’s an excellent striker and a very interesting player for the future. But financial dimensions [of a deal] are beyond our imagination”
Loftus-Cheek reacts
Chelsea ace Ruben Loftus-Cheek looked back at his “tough road” to full fitness.
Loftus-Cheek told ITV: “Way overdue [the goal]! It has been a tough road with injuries and going on loan to find my form again but I always believed in myself and I always wanted to play for Chelsea. I have played quite a lot this season, I am happy.
“I was just thinking hit it, I think it took a little deflection but I’ll take it! I had to be ready to step in. It looked a bit slow in the first half so I just wanted to bring some energy.
“The reason I am still here is my mentality through all the injuries. I still believed in myself and I said for many years my time will come.
“We want to get them back, simple as that. It was a fantastic game in the League Cup final and could have gone either way”
Thomas Tuchel reacts
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel praised Ruben Loftus Cheek’s performance against Crystal Palace.
Tuchel told ITV: “It was not easy because we played three games in three different competitions. It is not always easy, very challenging physically, we are the team with the most minutes in Europe I think, it is also challenging mentally.
“I thought the performance was very controlled and very serious, we took care of their counterattacks. It was hard, the opponent changed system twice, you cannot lose focus for a minute.
“He [Ruben Loftus-Cheek] was very, very strong in matches against Southampton and Real Madrid, he would have deserved to start but we expected a back four. We knew Ruben would have a big impact off the bench. I am very happy.
“He hid his talent and potential for a long time in his career. He is capable of producing performances that everyone sees on the pitch. For him it is step by step that he continues to grow in his confidence”
Back at it
Chelsea and Liverpool are set to face off in the FA Cup Final on May 14 at Wembley.
The Blues and the Reds will be the second pair to meet in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals in the same season.
That is after Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday in the 1992-1993 campaign.
More below:
FT: Chelsea 2 Crystal Palace 0
Chelsea punched their ticket to the FA Cup Final after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 at Wembley Stadium.
The Blues opened the scoring on 65 minutes with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who came on for the injured Mateo Kovacic in the first half.
The West Londoners sealed qualification with Mason Mount after 76 minutes.
Thomas Tuchel’s men are now set to face Liverpool in the final
Chelsea 2 Crystal Palace 0
Chelsea are close to the FA Cup Final as they are leading 2-0 against Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.
The Blues opened the scoring on 65 minutes with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who came on for the injured Mateo Kovacic in the first half.
And the West Londoners doubled their lead with Mason Mount after 76 minutes.
If Chelsea maintain their lead they will face Liverpool in the final
Chelsea 0 Crystal Palace 0
We’ve reached the hour-mark at Wembley and both Chelsea as well as Crystal Palace are still goalless.
Reminding you all you can follow the live action in SunSport’s live blog here
Credit: GETTY IMAGES HT: Chelsea 0 Crystal Palace 0
It’s half-time at Wembley and Chelsea are still goalless with Crystal Palace.
The Blues lost Matteo Kovacic to an injury and Thomas Tuchel had to take him off on 26 minutes.
Kovacic was replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The winner will go on to face Liverpool in the FA Cup Final
Chelsea 0 Crystal Palace 0
And here’s how the benches look like:
Chelsea: Kepa, Silva, Kante, Lukaku, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Ziyech, Sarr.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Milivojevic, Tomkins, Olise, Ayew, Clyne, Benteke, Edouard, Kelly.
Chelsea 0 Crystal Palace 0
It’s still goalless at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Here’s a little reminder of the two teams’ starting line-ups:
Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Mount, Havertz, Werner.
Crystal Palace: Butland, Ward, Guehi, Anderson, Mitchell, Kouyate, McArthur, Schlupp, Zaha, Eze, Mateta.
John Terry takeover reminder
Chelsea legend John Terry will play a key role in Boston Celtics and Atalanta co-owner Steve Pagliuca’s bid to become the club’s next owner, according to SunSport’s Andy Dillon.
Pagliuca won Terry’s backing just 24 hours before final bids were submitted on Thursday.
And the Celtics chief will now tap into the former Blues captain’s expertise to help win the race to take over from Roman Abramovich.
A preferred bidder could be announced by the middle of next week and a deal completed by the end of the month.
The former England international is part of the True Blues group, which has now aligned itself to Pagliuca’s bid to buy the £3billion-rated club
Credit: GETTY IMAGES Chelsea Women reach FA Cup final
Chelsea’s women’s side have cruised into the FA Cup final.
The Blues secured their place in the finale with a 2-0 win over Arsenal’s ladies in the semi-finals.
Goals from Guro Reiten and Ji So-yun gave Emma Hayes’ side the win.
Chelsea’s men’s side will be hoping they can also get into the competition’s final when they face Crystal Palace today.
Chelsea given Haaland boost
Bayern Munich have ruled out a move for Chelsea transfer target Erling Haaland.
Bayern chief Oliver Kahn admitted the German side would love to sign the Borussia Dortmund striker.
But he admitted Bayern can’t afford Dortmund’s release clause for Haaland.
Kahn said: “Haaland? I don’t think we would be doing our job properly if we didn’t consider such a young striker.
“He’s an excellent striker and a very interesting player for the future. But financial dimensions [of a deal] are beyond our imagination.”
Tuchel issues Loftus-Cheek warning
Thomas Tuchel has told Ruben Loftus-Cheek to believe in himself more.
Tuchel said: “He has everything, but he has heard it for so many years, he has heard it too much.
“He needs to trust himself. It is not a matter of over-confidence. It is the opposite.
“He needs to feel the confidence in his body and in his ability to do this not once, twice but three, four, ten, 20 times in a row.”
Eden Hazard is staying put
Eden Hazard has no intentions of leaving Real Madrid despite interest from Chelsea and Arsenal.
That’s according to the winger’s brother, Kylian who claims his sibling still has a point to prove with Los Blancos.
Kylian told RTL Sport: “He’s not going to let Real go until he’s proven he’s the strongest there.
“He’s proven himself at every club he’s been to, and for me, he doesn’t want to leave.
“I don’t think he’s going to leave. If the president wants him to leave, and he knows he has no chance to play, then I don’t think that he will stay. But I can assure you, he will do everything to prove he is the best player at Real Madrid.”
Tuchel on Real Madrid loss
Thomas Tuchel thinks like Chelsea still won against Real Madrid despite crashing out the Champions League at the hands of the Spanish giants.
He said: “We won. We won with an excellent performance and the attitude, investment, mentality, everything was on top level, what we needed.
“We got the result that was even enough to go through and we didn’t make it so it is disappointing and sad. It still needs a bit of time to digest.”
Vieira talks Chelsea game
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has told his stars that they’re in for a shock if they think Chelsea are mentally damaged after losing to Real Madrid.
He said: “If we are thinking that mentally they will be disappointed about the Madrid game, or the Madrid game having an impact on them, that is the biggest mistake we can make.
“Those clubs, those players they aim to win something every year and of course the FA Cup is what’s left on the table and they will do the maximum to try to win it.”
Tuchel on Crystal Palace threat
Thomas Tuchel has admitted Crystal Palace will give his Chelsea side a challenge when they meet in the FA Cup.
He said: “The constant level on which they are playing, high level of energy, commitment.
“They are playing throughout the season in the same way. It is a big belief, a real team effort, very close to the coach.”
It’s not Wright
Shaun Wright-Phillips has blasted his former club Chelsea for not allowing loanee Conor Gallagher to play in today’s FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace.
Speaking to Metro he said: “I don’t agree with the fact that loan players can’t play against their parent team. I’ve never agreed with it.
“For me, if you think he’s that good then play him in your team, give him his shot to show what he’s capable of.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
