My great memory of facing United in the Cup final? I kicked Roy Keane.. and got away with it

WHY CESC WON’T BE FAZED BY THE RED DEVILS

HE may be facing a starstudded Manchester United side.

He may also be up against a serial winner in Jose Mourinho. But Cesc Fabregas claims he took on an even better Red Devils team in the FA Cup final 13 years ago – and came out on top.

United head into today’s contest on the back of 10 wins from their last 14 games and spearheaded by Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba and red-hot Romelu Lukaku.

But none of that lot compare to Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane – all of whom started in 2005.

So while Chelsea will be underdogs, Fabregas will not be overawed. He had just turned 18 when the Gunners upset the odds at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Arsenal won after a penalty shootout following a goalless draw. Patrick Vieira smashed home the winning kick.

“I remember that final in a special way,” he said. “It was my first big trophy as a professional at a very young age.

“I remember Ronaldo, Rooney, Van Nistelrooy, Scholes, Keane. It was a fantastic United team. One of the best I faced. I was just 18 in 2005. We played really badly, to be honest, but we were lucky. I can say that now, I don’t care!

“I remember kicking Roy Keane in a one-on-one. I won that one, so I was happy. I got away because he was on the floor, so he could not say anything. He couldn’t get hold of me to kick me back later!

“I remember when Patrick scored the winner. I think it was his last kick for Arsenal. It was a nice moment. Good celebrations. Here in England, the FA Cup is one of the big trophies. Everyone talks about the Champions League, the World Cup, the Euros, but if you are a bit of a romantic, the FA Cup is always special.

“The crowds are always full, even from the first game of the competition. It is not easy to get into FA Cup finals. We have to value that, go into today knowing that, if we win, we are winning a special trophy.”

The pressure will be on Chelsea boss Antonio Conte to at least end a disappointing campaign with the trophy. The showpiece could be the Italian’s last game with the club after the Blues missed out on a Champions League place.

Yet Fabregas, 31, has defended Conte and called on his team-mates to take the pressure off him.

“To win a trophy is not easy.” he added. “How many top teams are in Europe and a lot of them do not win anything?

“In the Champions League, we played Barcelona, one of the top teams in the world, and lost. That can happen.

“In the league, we should have done better, we were not consistent. This is on us as players. It is a big disappointment.

“All we can do now is go on, win this final and give the fans a good end of the season.”