Youri Tielemans’ 30 yard wonderstrike was the difference as Leicester defeated Chelsea 1-0 to win their first ever FA Cup.
21,000 fans were allowed entry into Wembley Stadium to witness the Belgian’s magnificent strike which will be remembered as one of the all time great goals in an FA Cup final.
The Foxes fans erupted into further scenes of celebration after VAR judged Ben Chilwell to be offside in the build up to a potential 89th minute equaliser.
After four failed final attempts to secure the 149-year-old trophy, Leicester won their first FA Cup trophy in the club’s 137- year history.
Brendan Rodgers’ Seventh Heaven
Brendan Rodgers made it seven victories from seven finals as a manager and expressed his delight on winning the famous competition.
Rodgers said: “It’s a truly special feeling especially being a British manager, to win the FA Cup, it’s a special moment for me.
“It’s such a special day, I wasn’t aware that Leicester had never won the FA Cup before I came into the job so to be able to give that to the supporters and the owners, it’s an amazing feeling.
“Youri’s goal was like an old school FA Cup winning goal but also Kasper’s save, those are the really special moments that you need in games.
“The success of this club is getting to positions like this and competing, the bigger clubs are almost expected to win these competitions but with monumental performances like today we can win them and create special moments for this club and the city.
“Yet overall, I thought we were the better team, we pressed the game really well, we were super aggressive and then we were always a threat on the ball and in the end I thought we deserved to win.”
Lack of cutting edge from both teams
Chelsea started the more confident as they dominated the ball but for all their possession they failed to test Kasper Schmeichel at all in the opening 45 minutes.
The Foxes seemed content to sit in and frustrate the Blues before hitting on the counter attack with Jamie Vardy.
The Englishman went close after a quarter of an hour, arriving onto a Timothy Castagne cross but his effort was blocked well by Reece James.
Mason Mount looked to respond and turned Caglar Soyuncu in the final third but his shot from the edge of the box deflected wide of the post.
On the half hour mark, Chelsea missed the best chance of the half as Timo Werner flicked a header wide when Cesar Azpilicueta seemed in a better position to nod the ball home from behind him.
However, the Foxes reminded the Blues of their threat just before the break as Vardy found space in the box again but his deft flicked header went just wide of the post.
Special Strike and Save
The chance seemed to spur Leicester on and they were the better side after the break applying pressure from the start.
However, it took a superb strike from Tielemans to break the deadlock as the Belgian’s shot arrowed into the top corner to give the Foxes the lead with their first shot on target.
Chelsea were forced to chase the game from then on and it took until the 77th minute for them to have their first chance for an equaliser.
Former Leicester defender Chilwell headed towards goal but a Schmeichel did magnificently to tip the ball onto the post and out of play.
The Leicester keeper then looked to match Tielemans’ memorable strike with a save that will also be remembered as one of the best ever in an FA Cup final.
The Danish goalkeeper flung out a left hand to deny Mount’s vicious half volley which seemed destined for the back of the net.
The Chelsea pressure seemed to have finally paid off in the 89th minute when Thiago Silva looped a cross field pass into Chilwell who bundled the ball into the net off Soyuncu and Wes Morgan.
However, referee Michael Oliver was forced to cancel the Blues celebrations and rule out the goal for offside, which sparked elation amongst the Leicester fans as it all but sealed the famous trophy.
Chelsea will need to bounce back and forget a second consecutive FA Cup final defeat as they play against the Foxes again in midweek looking to seal a top-four spot in the league.
