A glamorous Easter Sunday afternoon in London, Loftus-Cheek’s first substitution goal (65) and the end of the Mount 11 minutes later were enough to close a meeting with seven-time winners Liverpool on 14 May in a rematch. Carabao Cup of February. final. Following the disappointment of the Champions League in Madrid on Tuesday, Chelsea seemed to convey this disappointment to their second home semi-final as it started sluggishly and without any real conviction. In a quiet and hassle-free first half, the best chance fell to Palace, with Cheikhou Kouyate volley forcing Edouard Mendy to make a nice save before offside Joachim Andersen hit a crossbar with a rebound. The draw needed a moment of magic and Loftus-Chik, who had replaced the injured Mateo Kovacic in the middle of the opening period, managed it just 20 minutes after the break. Picture: Ruben Loftus-Chick scored Chelsea’s first goal of the season

Player ratings

Chelsea: Mendy (7), James (7), Christensen (7), Rudiger (7), Azpilicueta (7), Jorginho (7), Kovacic (6), Alonso (7), Mount (7), Havertz (6), Werner (7). Subs: Loftus-Cheek (8), Ziyech (n / a), Lukaku (n / a), Kante (n / a), Silva (n / a). Crystal Palace: Butland (6), Kouyate (6), Anderson (5), Guehi (7), Ward (6), Eze (6), McArthur (7), Schlupp (6), Mitchell (6), Zaha (6), Mateta (6). Subs: Man of the match: Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Palace left-back Tyrick Mitchell was caught on the ball and, after a few quick passes with a touch, saw Kai Havertz advance in the wide area, half his effort was crushed by Loftus-Cheek through a slight deflection for the first . The 26-year-old, who spent the 2017-18 season on loan at Palace and suffered injuries during his tenure at Stamford Bridge, hit the air in celebration as he ended a goal drought at Chelsea that runs until May 9, 2019. Eleven minutes later the draw was over. Timo Werner’s simple square ball from the edge of the box passed Andersen with Mount’s first touch before the English international buried a goal beyond Jack Butland for his 12th goal of the season. Romelu Lukaku then had a great chance to make it 3-0 late, but the second-half substitute, who has yet to score in the 2022 Premier League, was able to hit the crossbar from a few meters away. After losing to Arsenal in 2020 and Leicester last year, Thomas Tuchel’s team will hope to be third lucky at Wembley next month, when they aim for their ninth FA Cup title. The result also marked a successful day for the club as a whole, with the Chelsea Women having qualified for the third FA Cup final five years earlier, after beating Arsenal 2-0.

Team news

Timo Werner started the attack for Chelsea as Thomas Tuchel made three changes from the team that started the second match of the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Tuesday with Real Madrid. N’Golo Kante was only on the bench, with Thiago Silva and Ruben Loftus-Cheek also out of the starting line-up. Jorginho, Andreas Christensen and captain Cesar Azpilicueta entered the game. Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira made four changes from the team that lost 2-1 to Leicester in the Premier League last weekend. Cup goalkeeper Jack Butland replaces Vicente Guaita, James McArthur returns as captain, Joel Ward replaces Nathaniel Clyne and Eberechi Eze replaces Jordan Ayew.

Mount: The FA Cup final is “damping”

Following the defeat by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final in February, Chelsea’s Mason Mount is aiming for “performance” as the two sides meet again next month with the Reds chasing an unprecedented quadruple. “It’s definitely time to win a final at Wembley, it’s five finals I have lost. Now it’s time to be rewarded,” he told ITV Sport. Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said: “I’m not interested in Liverpool’s other titles. We want to change things (against them), but it will not bring us back the Carabao Cup title. “We are here, we were here last season in the FA Cup final in a game that means a lot to us because it is the FA Cup, the most famous and most traditional cup in the world, maybe we played at Wembley, so there are not many bigger games in which you must be a part. Image: Mount aims to “perform” in next month’s FA Cup final against Liverpool “We are grateful for that and we will be well prepared because we are playing against one of the strongest teams in the world. “It will be another tough match, given the quality and form of Liverpool. It will be incredibly difficult to beat it, but that is the meaning of a final cup.”

Loftus-Cheek: I always believed in myself

Ruben Loftus-Chick told ITV Sport: “It was a difficult road, injuries and on loan to regain my form, I always believed in myself and I always wanted to play for Chelsea. “The reason I’m still here is my mentality. I still believe in myself. I said for many years my time will come. “Everyone wants to play and I feel like I did well in the last two games and I wanted to keep the momentum. The in-depth strength in the team is fantastic, but I have to be ready to enter.” Picture: Loftus-Chick celebrating with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal Tuhel added: “Hopefully this is a great moment for Ruben. “It was nice because he is usually a very calm, quiet guy and it was good to see him like that jumping and celebrating a goal. “It’s the opposite of overconfidence, we have to instill that confidence in his body and in his game. These are the next steps for him.”

Vieira: The fans were incredible

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira wants the semi-final defeat to be a platform for his team and has praised the club’s fans. “This is the kind of game the club wants to play. We have to keep building the team, work hard and the fans were incredible,” he said. “I believe that playing games like this with a lot of intensity will make us a better team. “We had opportunities and we did not score, it is not only these opportunities but also the decision making. “I do not think it was bad luck. We tried to play as well as we could, but Chelsea was a very good day for us. “I am proud of the team for their approach to this game. We were great in the first half.”

Sluggish Chelsea need to improve for the FA Cup final

Sky Sports’s Ron Walker: Thomas Tuchel defended Chelsea’s painful, blurry opening in the 45th minute against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final, insisting it was the only way to play against Patrick Vieira’s counter-attacking team. This was a Palace team that is 13th in the Premier League, with eight league victories all season and appeared in the fifth semi-final of the English Cup, against the holders of the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup. The Vieira men also started without the player of the season, Conor Gallagher or the smartest playmaker Michael Olise, playing a band they had not developed all season. Tuhelj’s no need to justify himself or his team, given his achievements at Stamford Bridge since joining 14 months ago, and the Blues would have been forgiven for showing signs of a hangover in the Champions League after their extra time. from Real Madrid in the middle of the week. Image: Thomas Tuchel’s men fought to knock down Patrick Vieira’s team for long periods But his reasoning does not wash away. Chelsea’s pace and intensity were lacking throughout their first season at Wembley and it was no coincidence that their two goals came from a fast, intense game later – as Tuhel had suggested it was not possible due to the Palace’s threat. rest. The proof will be in the English Cup final pudding on May 14, when Chelsea will return to face Liverpool, hoping to avoid finishing as runners-up for a third consecutive season. Against a disciplined but limited Palace team, they could afford to take the time to pick up their pace and take a break at each half when Cheikhou Kouyate came close to scoring for the Eagles. A Liverpool team that is still on track for the quartet, which easily defeated Manchester City in Saturday’s other semi-final, will not be so generous. Anything approaching a repeat of the show in four weeks is sure to continue Chelsea’s recent run in the FA Cup to always be the bridesmaid and never the bride.

Vieira’s dream of a palace can still come true

“I am in a very good place, in a great football club with good people and I want to take the club to another level.” That was the dominant sentiment of Patrick Vieira, who led the club to a rare Wembley appearance and pushed Champions League winners Chelsea to the fifth FA Cup semi-final in the club’s 117-year history. With seven games to play in the Premier League, Palace have exactly the same number of points as Roy Hodgson’s last season at Selhurst Park. But the feeling around the club is very different. Where Palace finished in 2020/21 with the oldest midfield of any Premier League team, now Michael Olise, Ebere Eze, Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen have revitalized the club and brought a new air of youth to south London. Image: Eberechi Eze’s return to Crystal Palace could not inspire them to win Not only that, but Hodgson’s solid, effective style that helped establish Palace as a Premier League team has now grown into an expansive, attractive football brand that has kept fans close to Vieira even in difficult games this season. …