As It Happened: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United

Welcome to Nigerianeye's live text coverage of the 2018 FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.


Both teams have a chance to salvage their respective seasons this evening when facing off in the showpiece match for a third time, making this the joint-most played final fixture.

The Blues arguably have more to lose, having missed out on a Champions League qualification spot, although finishing 19 points adrift of rivals Manchester City is hardly cause for celebration as far as the Red Devils are concerned.

Follow all of the action as it unfolds with our extensive updates below.

OFFICIAL LINE-UPS

CHELSEA: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Alonso; Hazard; Giroud

SUBS: Caballero, Zappacosta, Chalobah, Barkley, Pedro, Willian, Morata

MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Young; Matic, Herrera, Pogba; Lingard, Rashford, Sanchez

SUBS: Romero, Bailly, Darmian, Mata, McTominay, Lukaku, Martial







That Paul Pogba chance six minutes from time proved to be Manchester United's last big opportunity to salvage extra time. Chelsea saw through the five minutes of added time to claim a 1-0 win and lift the FA Cup for an eighth time. In the end, Eden Hazard's penalty a quarter of the way through proved to be the decisive moment. Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!


CHELSEA ARE WINNERS OF THE 2018 FA CUP!

90+6 min FULL TIME: CHELSEA 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

90+4 min YELLOW CARD! Matic meets a cross into the box with his head, but can only loop it over the crossbar. Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois has just been yellow carded for time-wasting, as we enter the final 60 seconds of the match.

90+2 min We are into two of five added-on minutes at Wembley Stadium. Conte is banking on his side seeing through the remaining minutes, having taken off his best player in Eden Hazard. The Belgian's goal looks like settling this match.

90 min CHELSEA SUBS! A little later than expected, Alvaro Morata has been brought on for Olivier Giroud. Willian also comes on for Eden Hazard. It is as tense as you like out there, but Chelsea are doing what is required to get themselves over the line.

88 min MANCHESTER UNITED SUB! Yet another former Chelsea player enters the fray for United - Juan Mata replacing Phil Jones in Mourinho's third change. United knocking on the door at the moment but unable to find a way through.

86 min Mourinho still has one change available to make should he wish, while Conte has all three. Willian would be a good option on the counter, but the Italian is clearly happy enough with the manner in which his side are seeing this one through.

84 min CHANCE! Man United surely won't get a better chance than this to equalise. A corner from the left is swung into the middle for an unmarked Paul Pogba to meet, but he could only glance the ball wide of the far post.

82 min SAVE! Nemanja Matic was tempted into taking on a shot from 25 yards, which Thibaut Courtois was simply happy to parry aside. Did not look all that convincing, but the shot did have some swerve and it must have been awkward.

80 min Chelsea have done very well over the past six or seven minutes to take the sting out of the game. All of a sudden we have just 10 minutes left to go at Wembley Stadium and the Blues are the team currently in possession of the ball.

78 min Phil Jones has suffered a nasty cut after coming out second best in his aerial duel with Olivier Giroud, but he should be OK to continue. United boss Jose Mourinho will not want to use his final substitution on a centre-back.

76 min MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS! Here comes Romelu Lukaku! The Belgian is introduced along with Anthony Martial, replacing Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. Martial gets in an early shot that deflects into the air for Courtois to gather.

74 min SAVE! VAR has been used for a second time. Moses's cross hit the arm of Young, who can consider himself a little lucky not to have given away a penalty. Up the other end, Rashford is slipped through by Lingard but cannot lift the ball over Courtois.

72 min CHANCE! A potentially huge moment in the match, as N'Golo Kante drives into the United box and lays the ball off for Marcos Alonso. The wing-back was reluctant to shoot on his left and was then denied by David de Gea with his right from eight yards.

70 min Great tackle from Smalling to take the ball from Hazard. United looking so dominant over the past 15 minutes, but Chelsea are being given a chance to counter-attack now on a regular basis. It has been an entertaining second half at Wembley.

68 min Three-quarters of the match played and we still await the first change. The Red Devils are now looking far more threatening and do appear to have a goal in them. Their hopes will be boosted soon because Lukaku may well be about to come on.

66 min Michael Oliver took advantage of the VAR; replays confirming that the offside call was correct. Courtois, clattered when attempting to keep out Sanchez's follow-up, is now back on his feet after a couple of minutes of treatment.

64 min GOAL DISALLOWED! Man United's celebrations are cut short by the offside flag. Phil Jones somehow stooped down to get his head to the ball, with Courtois doing brilliantly to keep it out. Sanchez pounced on the follow-up but the flag was quickly up.

62 min Hazard is undoubtedly the liveliest player on the pitch. The Belgian forward again created something from nothing, getting himself to the byline and sending in a cross for De Gea to collect. This is a pivotal period in the match; both teams attacking.

60 min YELLOW CARD! Just when United had been steadily building momentum, Rashford's near-post corner is cleared and Hazard leads the counter. The Belgian was happy to take the contact from Valencia, seeing the full-back cautioned.

58 min SAVE! Momentum is certainly swinging United's way now. Valencia was played in behind but could not pick out a teammate. Sanchez did brilliantly to win back possession and Rashford's drive was parried by Thibaut Courtois.

56 min All of a sudden the Blues are looking a tad shaky at the back. Positivity from Lingard nearly pays off, with the Blues desperately clearing their lines. The attack came to an end when Ashley Young's cross went straight out of play.

54 min This will technically go down as a save, as Courtois had to put up a couple of hands to keep out Rashford's shot-cross from a left-sided free kick. Romelu Lukaku has now stepped up his warm-up drill, perhaps indicating that we will soon seen him.

52 min Conte will be happy enough with the way the early stages of the second half have gone. Same old from United's perspective - they have still yet to create a serious opportunity all evening, despite seeing far more of the ball.

50 min Frustration for United as Michael Oliver has no choice but to stop play after Chris Smalling caught Eden Hazard in the head with his arm. The Red Devils desperately attempting to build some momentum as they search for that equaliser.

48 min Lukaku and Martial remain on the bench for United, who have 42 minutes to find a goal. An collision early in the second half between Giroud and Jones leaves the latter with a knock, and Eric Bailly has now been sent out to warm-up.

46 min RESTART! Chelsea, protecting a one-goal lead from the first half, get us back under way at Wembley Stadium. The Red Devils ended the first half pretty strongly, so can they use that to push on in the second half?


Manchester United saved their best until last in that first half, creating half a chance for Marcus Rashford right before the referee blew for half time. Paul Pogba created it by charging through the opposition midfield and picking out Alexis Sanchez, but Rashford was unable to find the target when the ball eventually arrived at his feet inside the box.


45+2 min HALF TIME: CHELSEA 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

45+1 min CLOSE! The closest United have come to finding a goal all evening, as Ashley Young's deep cross is met by the head of Phil Jones. The centre-back could not make the right contact when under pressure, though, missing the target entirely.

44 min Mourinho must surely be tempted to make a change at the break, or at the very least alter his system slightly. Moses blocks the run of Young to concede a free kick, but he avoided being shown a yellow card by referee Michael Oliver.

42 min Chelsea's turn to win a corner, De Gea's turn to deal with the danger. A first half of very few openings at either end; neither team willing to take too many risks. It is the Blues who will take a slender advantage into the break as things stand.

40 min Pogba wins United a corner as we enter the final five minutes of the first half, but it was cleared away at the near post by Fabregas. The next delivery was then collected by Courtois - all very predictable from the Red Devils' perspective.

38 min Chelsea have only really got at their opponents three or four times in this first half, yet on each occasion they have looked threatening - unlike United. Fabregas's through-ball was cut out, before Bakayoko was fouled by Sanchez. Fabregas sends a 22-yard free kick into the wall.

36 min United have now racked up four shots, none of which have come close to troubling Courtois. Chelsea looking comfortable since edging in front, happy to let their opponents see more of the ball. Not threatening enough from the Red Devils.

34 min It has been an incredibly scrappy game at Wembley Stadium, as many predicted it would be. Just the one real moment of quality so far, which saw Hazard sprint away from Jones and win his side a penalty, from which he converted.

32 min SHOT! Right on cue, United get away a shot through Paul Pogba. It was lacking in quality, however, as the ball was dragged wide of Thibaut Courtois' target from around 20 yards out. The Red Devils seeing far more of the ball.

30 min The Red Devils still awaiting their first attempt of any note, with half an hour now played at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea, by comparison, have tested De Gea once through a Hazard drive and then converted a penalty a little later through the Belgian.

28 min Man United now having to show a little more urgency, having started this match in far too cautious a manner. A cross into the box is met by Pogba before being deflected behind for a corner kick which came to very little.

26 min Serious questions have to be asked of Jones's defending, as he was caught out by Hazard both in terms of positioning and then for pace. Blues boss Conte is furious that the centre-back was not shown a red card for the challenge.

24 min As calm as you like from Eden Hazard, brushing himself down to send David de Gea the wrong way from the penalty spot. It has been a match lacking in quality so far, but the build-up to that spot kick being awarded was brilliant from the Belgian.

23 min GOAL! CHELSEA 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (EDEN HAZARD, PENALTY)

22 min PENALTY TO CHELSEA! This is unbelievable from Eden Hazard! The Belgian's first touch to bring down a ball over the top allows him to run into the United box, and Phil Jones was only able to take the player and not the ball when lunging in for a last-ditch challenge.

21 min United refusing to take any risks, but Sanchez takes matters into his own hands by driving at the Chelsea defence. The Chilean again went tumbling, this time on the edge of the Chelsea box. No free kick, though that move offers encouragement.

19 min Having seen a replay of both those penalty appeals, referee Michael Oliver made the correct call - neither was worthy of a spot kick being awarded, even if Moses did have an arm on Sanchez while falling. A very tight match on our hands here.

17 min PENALTY APPEALS! Half a shout for a Chelsea penalty, as Bakayoko went to ground under contact from midfield opponents Matic. Looked to be very little in it, however, with the France international seemingly tripping over his own feet. Up the other end, Michael Oliver told Sanchez to get up after falling to the ground.

15 min Lingard makes a good run off the ball, but Young instead stuck the ball up towards the back post and Courtois collected. The Red Devils look the side more in control of possession at the moment, though the only chance so far has fallen Chelsea's way.

13 min That was the first time that either side has had a chance to properly counter, and it so nearly provided us with the opening goal. De Gea was always expected to keep out Hazard's low shot at his near post, but it was still a decent save with his leg.

11 min SAVE! An injection of pace from Lingard, only being halted by a tackle from Kante. A free kick from 10 yards inside their own half is played short to Young; the subsequent cross into the box was cleared and Chelsea countered. Hazard with plenty of room to run into, and his shot down low so nearly caught out De Gea at his front post - good save in the end.

9 min United seeing more of the ball at the moment, without really doing a great deal with it. No real sign of anyone making a run in behind so far, with the two teams continuing to settle into their rhythm in a game that neither dares lose.

7 min Many were expecting a 'tactical battle' today - i.e a low-scoring match! - and that is proving to be the case in the early stages. Neither team willing to really take any risks, instead keeping things simple for the time being.

5 min Sanchez seems to be playing in a central position, providing support for Rashford. Mourinho would have loved to have had Lukaku back up top this evening, but he has had a fortnight to prepare for this match without the Belgian striker, who will surely appear from the bench at some point.

3 min Herrera, an expert at man marking Hazard these days, trips Alonso 35 yards from goal to concede a free kick. Fabregas lofts the ball into the middle, but it was a rather poor delivery and De Gea had the simplest of catches to make.

1 min KICKOFF! We are up and running at Wembley Stadium in the 137th FA Cup final. A real heavyweight tussle, this, between two sides desperate to pick up victory in order to somewhat salvage their respective campaigns.