• SOCCER Chelsea’s FA Cup redemption
at the end of the season after apparently falling out with his bosses over transfer policy.
But yesterday the Italian warmly embraced owner Roman Abramovich’s chairman Bruce Buck when he climbed Wembley’s steps to collect his medal.
Hazard, himself the subject of transfer speculation told the BBC: “We tried to defend well. We kept a clean sheet, we scored one goal. It is enough today but if we want to win a lot of games we need to play better because we had to play defensively.”
But the Belgian sidestepped questions about his future.
“Now I am just happy,” he said. “To see the fans celebrate is something we like. We didn’t have a great season but at least we finish with a trophy.”
Chelsea’s German defender Antonio Ruediger was named man of the match.
“Chelsea is about winning titles,” he said. “Although we had a bad season we still won a trophy. Especially for me, this is really special.”
Hazard’s searing pace earned the spot-kick in the 21st minute after forcing Phil Jones into a desperate lunging tackle and he coolly tucked it away for what proved to be the winner.
José Mourinho’s United were dismal in a scrappy first half and although they improved significantly after the break they were denied a record-equalling 13th FA Cup triumph.
Chelsea, whose Premier League title defence fizzled out into a fifth-placed finish, survived several scares but defended superbly as Conte celebrated his first domestic cup honour as a manager having seen his side beaten by Arsenal a year ago.
It was only Mourinho’s third defeat in 15 Cup finals as a manager and his first in an English showpiece final.
In a poignant end to the afternoon, Cahill was presented with the cup by Jackie Wilkins – wife of former Chelsea and United great Ray Wilkins who died last month.
“As I said, this was to save our season which hasn’t been great by our own high standards, “added the team skipper.
Cahill’s assured display would have impressed England manager Gareth Southgate. “We had a lot of defending to do, they pushed us until the very end. We are buzzing. This a dream come true because it is my first trophy win as captain of the club.”
The sunshine that illuminated the day’s other big occasion down the road at Windsor helped provide a carnival-like atmosphere as red and blue clad fans streamed into Wembley.
Pre-match pyrotechnics aside, however, the opening stages of the showpiece hardly offered up party football with a predictably cagey approach.
Hazard, also rumoured to be on his way out of Stamford Bridge, stood out from the crowd, though, and the Belgian served notice of his threat in the eighth minute when he jinked past Jones and fired in a shot that David de Gea saved with his feet. – Reuters