Youri Tielemans struck a sensational winner to clinch Leicester City their first FA Cup in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, in front of 21,000 fans at Wembley – with Ben Chilwell’s 89th-minute effort ruled out by VAR for offside.
It was the biggest gathering of supporters inside a stadium since the coronavirus pandemic began – and they were treated to incredible drama in the 140th FA Cup final.
Leicester fans had the perfect view as Tielemans fired a brilliant shot into the top corner of the goal at their end on 63 minutes. It was a goal worthy of winning any final and capped a superb performance from the Belgian.
Leicester, who lost key defender Jonny Evans to injury midway through the first half, held on and, 52 years after their last appearance in a FA Cup final, were able to hold the trophy aloft for the first time in their history.
There will be little time for the Foxes to celebrate the achievement, though, with Chelsea hosting Leicester on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports, a crucial contest in the race for a top four finish in the Premier League.
How it happened…
Chelsea were playing in their fourth FA Cup final in five years and looked more accustomed to the occasion in the early stages, forcing Leicester onto the back foot from the off, with Reece James deployed as one of the three centre-backs to cover the Foxes’ counter-attack.
The switch looked a smart one from Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel and it paid off on 16 minutes when James made a crucial block on a Jamie Vardy shot from eight yards out.
Soyuncu then headed over from a Tielemans free-kick, as Chelsea only had off target shots from Antonio Rudiger, Mason Mount and Timo Werner to show from their fast start.
The Blues were then their own worst enemy on 29 minutes, when Werner flicked a cross just out of Cesar Azpilicueta’s reach, when the Spaniard appeared prime to score.
Leicester suffered a serious blow on 34 minutes when centre-back Jonny Evans – who was in a race to be fit for the final – was forced off with what appeared to be a recurrence of his heel problem, however his young team-mate Wesley Fofana stepped up in his absence and pulled off a brilliant double block soon after to deny Werner.
Headers from Soyuncu and Vardy flashed wide just before the break but when the half-time whistle sounded, neither side had worked the opposition goalkeeper.
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