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De Gea gifts Chelsea FA Cup semi win

Published:Monday | July 20, 2020 | 12:22 AM
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea fails to stop the opening goal by Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud during their English FA Cup semi-final match at Wembley Stadium in London, England, yesterday.
AP
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea fails to stop the opening goal by Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud during their English FA Cup semi-final match at Wembley Stadium in London, England, yesterday.

LONDON, England (AP):

At least David De Gea was spared having a crowd inside Wembley to witness his latest mistakes in the Manchester United goal.

Gifted goals to beat United 3-1 yesterday, Chelsea will be returning to the national stadium on August 1 to face Arsenal in an all-London FA Cup final.

De Gea’s first mistake came in the 11th minute of first-half stoppage time. Olivier Giroud’s close-range, deft touch from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross was pushed into his own goal by De Gea.

United returned to the field early for the start of the second half but were just as sloppy.

Diving to his left, De Gea let Mason Mount’s long-range strike go through his gloves. There was shared United culpability for the 46th-minute goal, since Brandon Williams gave the ball away around the halfway line with a misplaced pass that Mount seized on.

THIRD GOAL

It summed up United’s misfortune that the third goal in the 74th came from captain Harry Maguire accidentally turning the ball past De Gea at the near post when under pressure from Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger.

Usually, Sergio Romero plays in goal for United in the FA Cup. De Gea hadn’t played in the competition since the 2018 final when Chelsea beat United.

With three years remaining on De Gea’s contract, United have a quandary over the future of one of their highest-paid players who was once considered one of the world’s top goalkeepers.

United can so often rely on winning a penalty. But even earning a 19th spot kick of the season – converted by Bruno Fernandes in the 85th after Anthony Martial was fouled by Callum Hudson-Odoi – could not spark a late comeback.

It means Frank Lampard’s first season as Chelsea manager will end with a cup final. It will be a harder route to a second final in August, with Chelsea trailing 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.

In this pandemic-delayed conclusion to the season, which prevents fans attending games, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also chasing continental glory through the Europa League with United.

Chelsea and United will be hoping to secure Champions League spots in the upcoming final week of the Premier League season – and not be relying on winning continental competitions to qualify.