HAZARD SENDS CHELSEA PAST TOTTENHAM AND INTO FA CUP FINAL

Eden Hazard had a rare view from the Chelsea bench, and it wasn't comfortable viewing.

Twice Willian scored, but each time Tottenham struck back in the FA Cup semifinal on Saturday.

Approaching an hour in with a sharper, slicker Spurs seizing the initiative at Wembley Stadium, Chelsea coach Antonio Conte finally deployed Hazard.

“When you play football you want to play every game,” Hazard said, “but he made a great choice.”

A selection gamble that could have backfired now looked like a masterstroke as Hazard halted the Tottenham momentum and sent Chelsea into a final against Arsenal or Manchester City next month.

Tottenham's fightback was shut down in a potent five-minute spell. Hazard shot the ball through a crowded penalty area into the net in the 75th minute and then he teed up Nemanja Matic for a powerful strike off the inside of the crossbar. It secured a 4-2 victory and potentially a psychological blow on the final stretch of the English Premier League. Chelsea's lead has been slashed to four points by Tottenham with six games remaining but Conte is still in contention for a double in his first season in charge of the west London club.

While Chelsea hasn't won the FA Cup in five years, Tottenham's drought goes back to 1991 and it has lost seven successive semifinals since then.

It was a dismal start on Saturday, conceding after five minutes when Willian curled in a free kick but Harry Kane leveled in the 18th when he darted in front of Nathan Ake to flick Christian Eriksen's cross into the net.

“We played with personality and character, and we dominate a team that played well,” Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “We forced them to play deeper and play on the counterattack and in transition.”