The Academy’s products were crucial for Chelsea to reach the third consecutive FA Cup final, where they will face Liverpool next month. The victory over a toothless Crystal Palace was secured by Mason Mount and it was also a huge moment in the career of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who opened this game by scoring the winning goal in the middle of the second half. Loftus-Cheek is a player who has not yet fulfilled his enormous potential. There have been disappointing loans, a number of serious injuries and times when it seemed that his future was far from Chelsea. The crucial thing, however, is that the midfielder still retains the support of Tuhel. The Chelsea manager is pressing Loftus-Chick, whose goal came with Gareth Southgate watching him from the stands, and will want more if the 26-year-old wants to win a place in his team as soon as new owners come. It was puzzling to think that Chelsea’s previous appearance at Wembley had come less than 24 hours after Roman Abramovich announced his fantastic plan to hand over control of the club to its managers. So much has happened since that February afternoon, which ended with Kepa Arrizabalaga’s strange penalty giving the Carabao Cup to Liverpool, and there is still no way of knowing what will follow in these weirdest takeover stories. Todd Boehly Consortium? The team of Lord Coe and Sir Martin Broughton? Or will it be Stephen Pagliuca, who was recently seen reassuring Atalanta fans of his commitment to their club, who will be holding the keys to the Stamford Bridge? Whatever the answer, the only thing that is certain at the moment is that Chelsea must trust Tuhel. The German has been a voice of calm in recent weeks and has now led Chelsea to six big finals. Mason Mount (center) scores Chelsea’s second goal against Crystal Palace. Photo: Matt Impey / Shutterstock The noise and the color had come from the fans of the Palace in the beginning. Red and blue smoke opened from the end to the beginning and they liked what they saw from their improved young team during the first half. Palace withdrew for the occupation and rushed to push at the break, Andreas Christensen was forced to enter early when Jean-Phillipe Mateta threatened to break. But the start-up period was short and closed. Unable to select Conor Gallgher against his home side on loan terms, Patrick Vieira decided to use a back three for the first time this season. The intention was to compress the space and cause a boring spectacle, with Wilfried Zaha unable to shake off Reece James and Eberechi Eze offering little as a replacement for Gallagher. As for Chelsea, she seemed drained after her heroic effort against Real Madrid at the Burnaby. There were only three substitutions by Tuchel, who brought in Christensen, Jorginho and César Azpilicueta for Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kanté and Loftus-Cheek, and his team struggled to create any momentum in the beginning. The Palace gave nothing. Azpilicueta wasted Chelsea’s cleanest opening shot, throwing a volley when it seemed easier to get the ball down. The crosses were removed and too many heavy movements collapsed. Only when Timo Werner ran to the left and beyond some Palace defenders after 38 minutes did the temperature rise Kai Havertz spoiled the mood with Marc Guéhi’s fake touch, forcing Anthony Taylor to shut down the German for diving . Palace went closer to the first half. Foul shot of Cheikhou Kouyaté that was sent near the left post by .douard Mendy. Tuhel had reason to worry. Chelsea, who had to replace Mateo Kovacic with Loftus-Chick in the middle of the opening period, needed more tension after the break. They pushed Palace back and were close to moving on when Werner ran into the goal, forcing Jack Butland to make a suffocating save. The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. Vieira was worried. He withdrew Mateta for Andre Ayew in an attempt to improve his team’s attack, but to no avail. Chelsea had taken control and it was no surprise when they took the lead after winning the ball back deep in the half of the Palace. Havertz dribbled right when his cross hit Guéhi and the ball went wide for Loftus-Cheek, who had time and space to send a long shot past Butland’s cross from Joachim Andersen. There was no way back for Palace, who responded by introducing Michael Olise and Christian Benteke. They could not touch Chelsea’s defense and their dream ended with 15 minutes left. Werner’s pass from the left was nice and Mount’s first touch was even better. The midfielder was very fast for Palace’s faltering defense and his superb, cool finish in the bottom left corner of Butland ensured that Chelsea would return to Wembley to face Liverpool.