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Chelsea will be back at Wembley next month as they overcame Manchester United 3-1 to set up an FA Cup final showdown with London rivals Arsenal.

Olivier Giroud came up with the all-important breakthrough in first-half injury time before Mason Mount and an own goal from Red Devils captain Harry Maguire sealed an impressive win for Frank Lampard’s side.

The only negative was not keeping a clean sheet as Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot to reduce the deficit in the final 10 minutes.

As expected, Giroud scored high in the ratings, as did midfielder Mateo Kovacic who looked comfortable in the middle of the park alongside Jorginho.

But how did the rest of the team fare?

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Lampard transcript

The Blues head coach faced the media following the Man United win and the main talking point from his press conference was about reaching the FA Cup final.

“It is a great achievement for us to get there. To win a semi is a great thing but to win a final is THE thing.

It is certainly up there because of the size of the game and the quality of the opponent but we have had some good performances this season, we are progressing, we are getting better.

Frank Lampard during Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

“There have been recent bumps but today was a performance of huge character and personality, work ethic and quality.

“So I am very happy.”

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Pulisic injury scare

In-form winger Christian Pulisic was a surprise absentee from the Chelsea starting line-up against Manchester United.

The USA international has arguably been the Blues’ best player since the restart and it’s because of his importance as to why he wasn’t risked after picking up a small injury.

They are a very strong team at the moment and have obvious and clear threats,” Lampard told BBC Sport when explaining his team selection. “But my thoughts are with what we can do. Does it make us stronger defensively? Can we still give an attacking threat in a different way? I think we can.

Christian Pulisic has starred for Chelsea since the Premier League's restart
Christian Pulisic has starred for Chelsea since the Premier League’s restart (Image: Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

A couple of changes I have made with Christian Pulisic has got a small injury issue and there is a risk in starting him trying to play the full game. “Maybe he can come off the bench but other than that I am confident that I have picked a team that can win the game.”

As it turned out, Pulisic wasn’t needed at Wembley, but it remains to be seen if he will be fine to face Liverpool later in the week.

Kai Havertz is the talk of all Chelsea fans at the moment and football.london will bring you the very latest updates on the Blues’ transfer pursuit of the Bayer Leverkusen star.

Kai Havertz transfer boost

Bayer Leverkusen wonder kid Kai Havertz is keen on a move to Chelsea in the summer transfer window, that’s according to Bleacher Report journalist Dean Jones.

“He is interested. Very interested, actually,” Jones told TalkChelsea. “He really wants to push himself and Leverkusen are pretty surprised at how focused he is on finding a new club.”

A move for Havertz could hinge on Chelsea’s top-four hopes as German publication Bild, via the Metro, claimed last month that Havertz is open to the idea of sealing a move to Stamford Bridge, but only as long as they have secured Champions League football for next season.

And if beating Man United wasn’t good enough, Tottenham Hotspur’s win over Leicester City has boosted the Blues chances of a top-four finish, thus potentially moving them closer to signing Havertz.

The maximum number of points Leicester can get is now 65 after losing to Spurs – and they face another top-four rival in Man United on the final day of the season which could benefit the Blues.

Football.london

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