Chelsea down Southampton to seal final date with United

A FLASH of attacking brilliance from Olivier Giroud and an emphatic header from substitute Alvaro Morata earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over struggling Southampton at Wembley yesterday and an FA Cup final date with Manchester United next month.

Giroud muscled and dribbled past three defenders and flailing keeper Alex McCarthy seconds into the second half to poke the ball home from a pass by the ever-busy Eden Hazard.

Morata, who came on for Giroud, made it two in the 82nd minute, nodding Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross into the net.

Relegation-threatened Southamp- ton were outplayed for most of the match but came close to equalising in the 72nd minute when Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero’s save kept out Nathan Redmond’s rasping shot.

They also had a possible goal not given when Charlie Austin was judged to have fouled the keeper.

United manager Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, believes criticism of his side this season has been unjustified after they came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 and reach a 20th FA Cup final.

Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera cancelled out Dele Alli’s opener to send the Red Devils into a third final in less than two years under Mourinho, having won the Europa League and League Cup last season.

Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at West Brom in the Premier League also means United need just seven points from their remaining four league games to secure second place behind champions Manchester City.

“We should ask ourselves why there is too many critics on all of us?” Mourinho said.

“We can finish second with seven more points. To do that with all the fantastic teams we play against will be an achievement for a club that couldn’t do it for a few years now.

“We need two victories and one draw to finish second with 81 points. I think second with 81 points is a good season and then we can come to the final with a good spirit, supported by good supporters.”

By contrast, a record eighth consecutive FA Cup semifinal defeat for Spurs ensured their decade-long wait for a trophy continues.

“We want to win trophies. We can’t keep doing this,” Alli said.

“We can’t throw it away. We have to improve.”

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino played down the importance of winning his first silverware as a coach beforehand, claiming it “wouldn’t change their lives”.

And the Argentine insisted that finishing in the Premier League top four for a third consecutive season to qualify for the Champions League was more important to their progress as a club than silverware.

“For me the most important is now we finish in the top four to play again in the Champions League,” Pochettino said.

“Sometimes after the game I am very frustrated, but quickly I move on and we have four games to make sure we play Champions League.

“It will be a successful season if we assure our position.”

However, Spurs started like the side determined to make a statement. Just 11 minutes in, Davinson Sanchez’s long ball picked out Christian Eriksen perfectly as Paul Pogba failed to track the Danish midfielder’s run down the right.

And his cross was inch-perfect for Alli to apply the finishing touch for his 13th goal of the season.

“We were dominant from the first minute and it only looked to be going one way,” Alli said.

“We let ourselves down, it’s very disappointing.” – AFP