COSTA SNAPS AS CHELSEA CRASH!
Lukaku seals semi spot for Everton with goal double, while ...
DIEGO COSTA brought disgrace to Chelsea and faces heavy punishment from the FA after he appeared to spit in front of the referee following a booking for a clash with Everton’s Gareth Barry — and he was then shown a red card after appearing to bite the midfielder on the neck.
The astonishing scenes overshadowed a brilliant individual performance from striker Romelu Lukaku who scored two excellent goals that sent Roberto Martinez’s men through to the semi-finals.
Lukaku opened the scoring in the 77th minute when he cut inside from the right, beat four men on a powerful mazy run and picked his spot to beat Thibaut Courtois. Goodison Park, the finest traditional ground in the Premier League, erupted.
And just five minutes later, with Chelsea reeling, the Belgian striker added a second when he finished off a fine move by moving in from the right and smashing the ball through the legs of Courtois.
That clinical finish ended his former club’s most dismal season in the Roman Abramovich era.
But worse was to come for the visitors two minutes later. Costa, who was having a running feud with Barry after an earlier booking that left him spitting mad, stuck his head in the Evertonian’s face, appeared to butt, then place his mouth on his neck — before hugging him.
Michael Oliver had no option but to show red, but he flourished the same card again when Barry, also on a yellow, fouled Cesc Fabregas and he too was sent off.
It is not true to say Lukaku unlocked this tie alone. On both occasions he was fed with delightful passes from Ross Barkley. Yet the first was a prodigious solo effort, his strength allowing him to shrug off the combined attentions of Cesar Azpilicueta and Branislav Ivanovic.
Azpilicueta came back for more but was just brushed aside as Lukaku headed goalwards, as was John Obi Mikel. For the denouement, Lukaku swerved past Gary Cahill and sent the ball wide of Courtois.
The second was more straightforward. Chelsea lost possession from a throw to Barry; Barkley fed Lukaku who outran Ivanovic and smashed the ball home. But the brace was decisive. In a fraught season at Goodison Park, Wembley beckons. For Chelsea, it is now officially the season from hell.
For Everton, stuck in 12th in the most-erratic Premier League in memory, despite having supposedly their best young team for years, a trophy could cover a multitude of Martinez’s defensive sins.
Playing in front of their billionaire investor Farhad Moshri — at Goodison for the first time since his purchase of half of the club — who has promised to keep the best players and add some more, the incentive was clear.
So, too, for Chelsea, dumped out of the Champions League and long since having given up on their Premier League title, and for whom there remained but one possible redemption.
The roar as the teams came out and the sizeable away following told its own story.
And Everton, reverting to 4-4-2 after the latest defensive debacle against West Ham, started the match with a ferocity that suggested they dare not fail in front of this crowd. Players rushed to chase the ball down; tackles were flown into.
Barry led the charge, with a challenge on Costa early on, the Chelsea player outraged that a yellow card was not issued. As play restarted he clashed with Barry again, a sly arm thumping into his face. Barry collapsed melodramatically; fans howled for a dismissal; a yellow card was produced. None of it was pretty, but the tone had been set.
Chelsea matched fire with fire. Kenedy, at left-back, was consistently misjudging interceptions and challenges, yet managed to escape booking. Phil Jagielka was not so lucky when he crashed through Fabregas. Chances? They were few and far between. In the third minute, Pedro flicked the ball over the head of Aaron Lennon, headed goalwards but shot just over.
Willian had a good free-kick tipped over by Joel Robles on 44 minutes. Leighton Baines dashed down the left and pulled the ball back for Tom Cleverley, who forced a smart save from Courtois. Yet what the game lacked in clear cut action, it made up for in commitment.
Everton started the second half with an added degree of intent. I the 49th minute a Cleverley corner was aimed at Ramiro Funes Mori, who met it cleanly yet headed just over. Two minutes later Lukaku was only halted by a timely Ivanovic challenge.
Lennon continued to harry Kenedy while Costa and Barry resumed their battle. There was no shortage of commitment. Costa was close to
opening the scoring in the 58th minute after being set up by Fabregas. He rounded Robles and from the narrowest of angles rolled the ball across the face of goal, just missing the far post.
Costa then clashed with Seamus Coleman, missing the ball and instead hit the back of the full-back’s skull with his head. On this occasion, it seemed inadvertent. Shortly after, Fabregas raised a dangerous foot to Barry and received a yellow card.
Azpilicueta was required to nudge away a floating Lennon cross from the head of Lukaku in the 66th minute and it seemed unlikely that the game could end goalless.
Barkley beat Mikel but then hit a wayward strike and Lukaku fed Lennon who turned the ball back only for Ivanovic to clear.
As the minutes ticked by, the more chances were created before Lukaku’s brilliance decided the tie.
EVERTON head to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final yet to concede a single goal in the competition this season — but it is striker Romelu Lukaku who is fast proving the hero.
After four games without a goal against his former club Chelsea, Lukaku netted two in 286 seconds at Goodison Park yesterday — scoring with his only two shots on target.
And that double took his Cup tally to six so far this season, the Belgium striker having found the net in each of his last five appearances in the tournament.
Everton’s appearance in the semi-final is their first since 2011/12, where they were eliminated by Liverpool, while Chelsea’s quarter-final exit is their first since 2007-08, when they lost to Barnsley.