Giroud and Morata goals send Chelsea to the final of the FA Cup

Antonio Conte’s men are on a mission to salvage their season after failing to defend the English Premier League title which they won comfortably last season. They were looking to get one over the Saints and book a place in the final with Manchester United. Southampton also went into the game with an added motivation to defeat Chelsea who defeated them 2-3 at home on the 14th of April. The wounds were still fresh after letting a 2-0 advantage turn into a loss.

Willian set him himself up and fired a shot on the crossbar while Hazard had a couple of chances blocked before Olivier Giroud, who was preferred to Morata in the lineup, missed a couple of volleys in the first half. However, this did not stop him from turning up with a fantastic goal just a minute into the second half. Those that know Giroud from his days at Arsenal are aware of the fact that the forward might not be a 30 goal-a-season striker but he has a neck for memorable goals. Giroud received a pass from Eden Hazard before going for a Messi-like dribble as he wiggled past four defenders and beat the goalkeeper before finishing with his weak foot into the net. Surprised? Well, you shouldn’t. There is a reason why the striker is always called up to the French national team even when he is not in the best of form because he delivers when everyone least expects him to.

Southampton created a couple of chances themselves, and Shane Long found himself in acres of space with only the goalkeeper to beat but could not finish past the keeper. He tried to round the keeper who had read his thoughts and ended up over kicking the ball out for a goal kick. Southampton we denied a penalty on the 67th minute when Austin headed the ball onto Giroud’s hand, but the referee waved play on. Redmond had a rocket shot from outside the box miraculously saved by Caballero. Morata came from the bench to score the second of the night from an Azpilicueta cross. That was it, and Southampton were knocked out of the semifinals. Chelsea will then be facing Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Cup. Who do you think will win?

Harry Kane trying to keep up with Salah

This season has seen the rise to stardom by an African player in the Premier League once again but this time by a player who had already failed to make the cut in this league before moving to Liverpool. You guessed right, Mo Salah has been in the limelight for the greater part of the season and has even gone ahead of the most clinical English striker in Harry Kane. The Tottenham forward had enjoyed the success of winning the Golden Boot twice in a roll before this season and was probably confident of pipping the usual front-runners in Aguero, Lukaku and probably a striker in Morata who had brought a huge hype when he moved to Stamford Bridge. Little did he know that he would be given a run for his money by an Egyptian winger who had failed to cement a first team spot when he was playing for Chelsea before leaving for Italy. This season, Harry Kane has been behind the Liverpool forward and he recently appealed for a goal in order to catch up with Salah. The Liverpool forward scored his 30th Premier League goal during last weekend and Kane had to wait for Tottenham’s game in hand played on Wednesday to also score a goal in a match that ended in a draw for the Spurs against Brighton & Hove Albion. There are only four games left to play and the Tottenham striker has vowed not to give up without a fight. Again we ask, will Kane have enough to pip his counterpart for his most prized asset? Drop your comments below.  

Alli leads Tottenham to a 3-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

Tottenham Hotspur’s star striker was facing a race against fitness to play in this London derby between his club and Chelsea. He was disappointed not to make it which meant that a lot of pressure was piled on Englishman Dele Alli and Eriksen to produce some fine performances and deal with Chelsea in the top 4 race. The duo did not disappoint but were made to wait after a great start from Chelsea. Alvaro Morata scored the first for Chelsea from a Victor Moses cross as he headed down past a helpless Lloris who had committed to try and keep out the cross. The Spanish striker celebrated with passion but Chelsea were not done. They kept attacking and probably forgot about their compact defending as Tottenham created a lot of space for Eriksen to riffle a shot from 30 yards out which was saved by Caballero. The same opportunity was presented again for Eriksen and he made no mistake this time as he fired a long range effort past the Italian Caballero who was replacing Courtois in goal. Alli then scored the second goal after running off the defenders and finished off a 50-yard pass from Dier. Alli coupled that up with another goal 4 minutes later which made it 3-1 for Tottenham. They eventually ran away with the win to end their poor run against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. This was Tottenham’s first win at Chelsea in 28 years. This result piles more misery on Chelsea and has all but confirmed their fate of Europa League football for next season. Chelsea were hoping to reduce the point deficit between them and Tottenham but are now left 8 points behind with 7 games to play. If they are not careful, they can easily be overtaken by Arsenal who have faced an upturn in form recently and are just 5 points behind them.

Conte backs Morata to be ready for the clash against Tottenham

At long last, the English Premier League resumes this weekend. The international break was welcomed by those teams that were not performing well but to those that were starting pick up form, it was unfavorable. Its time has passed and our focus goes back to the most competitive league in the world. A Super Sunday clash between Chelsea and Tottenham is on everyone’s lips and the managers have already started motivating their players. This time, it is Antonio Conte who talked about his big money signing Alvaro Morata on his fitness levels. The Italian backed the Spanish forward to be 100% ready for the clash which is as big as the North London derby. Alvaro Morata had been off form recently and the manager had been forced to deploy Hazard as a false 9 in his absence. Now he is expected to step out of the shadows and show that he can be the man that Conte bought back at Juventus and again at Chelsea last year. Do you see him being the man of the show on Sunday?

Chelsea win 2-1 in extra time

Antonio Conte proves he has still got it as his team fought hard for him against Leicester City in a match which they won 2-1 in extra time. First, it was Alvaro Morata who was out to prove his critics wrong who have been at his back for not living up to expectations. Some believe that he does not deserve to start for Chelsea ahead of Giroud because he is out of confidence. Nonetheless, it did not prevent him from scoring the opener in the 42nd minute. There was nothing much in the match after the break before Vardy deservedly evened the scores in the 76th minute. 90 minutes passed and still, there was no winner. The match had to go to extra time where N’golo, in an unfamiliar position to the right, whipped a beautiful cross and it was headed home by the Spanish Pedro of all people on 105 minutes. That was it for the night as both teams tried to score more with nothing materializing. Chelsea are up against Southampton next in the semis whom are now under the coach Mark Hughes who won 2-1 against Wigan in his first game in charge. Game on!