It was a brilliant night for Chelsea as we booked an FA Cup semi-final date with Tottenham at Wembley as well as setting a new club record of 13 consecutive home victories.
Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United were beaten at Stamford Bridge for the second time this season, with N’Golo Kante scoring the only goal of the game – his second of the campaign – six minutes into the second half.
The game turned during the first half when Ander Herrera was sent off for the visitors after picking up his second yellow card following a foul on Eden Hazard, and from that moment on it was a case of whether or not United could hold firm.
Their resistance was broken in the 51st minute when Kante picked the ball up 30 yards out and drilled a low drive beyond David De Gea, who had made two brilliant saves in the first half.
There were chances to extend our advantage but one goal proved to be enough, leaving Antonio Conte extremely content.
‘We must be pleased because to arrive in the semi-finals and play at Wembley gives us great satisfaction, above all for the work we’ve been doing this season,’ said the Italian. ‘To play Man United is not easy, they have one of the best squads in the league and they showed that tonight.'
Conte was asked for his thoughts on Herrera’s sending off
‘My point of view is that we want to play football and for the first 25 minutes it was impossible for Hazard to play because he got a lot of kicks. I’m not crazy and it’s not only me who saw it.
‘He started [the game] receiving kicks and finished it receiving kicks, nobody can say that didn’t happen. A tactic doesn’t exist when you go to kick an opponent, it’s not football.
‘Sometimes when you play against players with great talent you try to intimidate them and the ref must protect these type of players.’
Conte praised Hazard for the strength of character he showed
‘He showed great character, strong character. After the first 25 minutes every player came short to receive the ball because they had fear of receiving a kick from behind. Eden showed great character, I know this. Some people may be surprised but I’m learning to know him very well this season and he’s shown me this.’
The Blues will now face Tottenham in the last four, a repeat of the 2012 semi-final
‘It’s another tough game against a strong team. It’s one win for us and one win for them [so far this season], for sure it will be an exciting game for the people and our fans. In this phase, Tottenham, Arsenal or Man City, the level is very high. We have to accept this. They’ve shown they are able to beat us but we’ve shown we are able to beat them, now we’ll see what the result is in the semi-final.
‘Now we have to rest tomorrow and think about the league. Stoke are playing very well, they are a strong team.’
Source: https://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2017/03/conference-call--quality-and-character.html
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