Nigeria-eligible stars Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze were helpless, as goals from Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were enough to give Chelsea a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the semifinal of the FA Cup.
It was a London derby as Chelsea took on a Patrick Vieira-tutored Crystal Palace. The Eagles have been impressive this season, taking results off some of the big teams in the Premier League, and they stood a good chance against Chelsea, who got knocked out of the Champions last week.
Chelsea controlled play from the blast of the whistle. They tried to carve out the Palace defense, but Vieira’s lads held their own. Eze started the game, and he did a decent job. The Nigeria-eligible star won five of his eight duels, and he had an 86 percent pass accuracy.
The Eagles took the stalemate into halftime, but the second half was a different proposition. The Blues showed more hunger after the break, and they got their reward twenty minutes after the restart. Loftus-Cheek struck a powerful shot past Jack Butland to make it 1-0.
Vieira responded by introducing Michael Olise seven minutes later, but the 20-year-old could not do much.
Chelsea then increased their lead through Mount in the 76th minute.
A few half-chances fell to Crystal Palace, but they failed to take advantage. The Blues saw out the victory to secure a spot in the finals for a second consecutive season. They will trade tackles with Liverpool in the finals at Wembley.
