Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leapt to the defence of under-fire goalkeeper David De Gea after another costly error for Manchester United, backing the Spaniard to bounce back..
Chelsea booked their place in next month's FA Cup final against Arsenal with a 3-1 victory over the Red Devils.
An empty Wembley Stadium played host to the top-four rivals’ fourth meeting of the season, with the Blues making amends in some style for defeats in the three previous encounters.
Olivier Giroud put Chelsea ahead in first-half stoppage time, with De Gea somehow letting through a long-range Mason Mount strike moments into the second half before Harry Maguire scored an own goal (in highlights at bottom of article).
Bruno Fernandes’ late penalty was scant consolation as the Blues won 3-1 to set-up an all-London final with Arsenal on August 1.
“Obviously everyone has to perform and everyone has a chance every time we perform to stake a claim in the team," United boss Solskjaer said of De Gea, who let Mount's effort squirm through his grasp after the Chelsea man capitalised on a wayward Brandon Williams pass.
“David knows he should have saved the second goal but that’s done now. We’ve got to move, we’ve got to look forward to Wednesday (against West Ham in the Premier League).
“It’s hard for a keeper to make amends, apart from David making two or three fantastic saves after. But you see Brandon, for example – the character he shows. He plays a square pass into Mount, he probably feels a bit responsible and the rest of the half he was absolutely outstanding."
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“The kid has been out for a while, not played, out with an eye injury and his character and personality out there, he kept going, kept going. It’s so much easier for outfield players.
“David showed (his character) in the rest of the game with a few good saves, but he knows he could have saved that one.”
De Gea’s error all but settled a semi-final that they were already down in, with Solskjaer saying Eric Bailly’s first-half injury destabilised United before Giroud’s opener.
The defender was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Maguire and was taken away on a stretcher, having initially gone off looking groggy.
“Eric’s in hospital,” Solskjaer said. “They’re going through all the routine checks and the protocols.
“He got a cut in the back of his head as well, so I don’t really know from that (how he is). I haven’t heard, haven’t spoken to the doctor about him.
“But of course that had a big, big impact on the game. Eric was playing very well and we conceded just after the restart there, which was very disappointing.
“Eric was, of course, a big part of not having any chances against us, really.”
Manchester United 1-3 Chelsea highlights
Man Utd 1-3 Chelsea Opta stats
- Chelsea have reached their 14th FA Cup final; indeed, only Arsenal (21 including 2019-20) and Manchester United (20) have made the final on more occasions than the Blues.
- Manchester United have been eliminated from the FA Cup by Chelsea for a sixth time (including three of the last four seasons) – only Arsenal (7) have knocked the Red Devils out of the competition on more occasions.
- This was Chelsea’s first victory against Manchester United since the 2018 FA Cup final – the Blues were winless in six matches across all competitions against the Red Devils prior to today (D2 L4).
- Chelsea are the first side to beat Manchester United since Burnley in the Premier League back in January, ending United’s 19 game unbeaten run in all competitions.
- Since his debut in the FA Cup in January 2013, Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud has scored 16 goals in the competition (13 for Arsenal & 3 for Chelsea) - only Sergio Aguero (19) has netted more in this period.
- Mason Mount became the first Englishman to score for Chelsea at Wembley Stadium since John Terry in the 2015 League Cup final versus Tottenham.
- No player has scored more goals in all competitions for Frank Lampard in his managerial career than Mason Mount (18 – level with Harry Wilson).
- Since his Manchester United debut in February, no Premier League player has been involved in more goals across all competitions than Bruno Fernandes (17 – 9 goals & 8 assists).
- Manchester United have both taken (19) and scored (15) more penalties than any other Premier League side this season in all competitions.
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