FA Cup Takeaways: Hazard, Chelsea stymie Manchester United

Eden Hazard scored in his 300th appearance for Chelsea, helping his team defeat Manchester United 1-0 to lift its eighth FA Cup on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.

The FA Cup assures Antonio Conte finishes his second season as Chelsea manager with a trophy after missing out on the Champions League places in the Premier League. Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, comes out empty-handed.

Here are four takeaways from the 2018 FA Cup final.

Clustered Man United

There was a definite improvement in the second half, but Manchester United were awfully dull in the final third for the majority of the match.

Conte deserves some credit for this, as Chelsea immediately retreated with nine men behind the ball to ensure Man United had little space in the attacking areas.

This changed right around the hour mark. United tested Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois through Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford, who was quite isolated, but to no avail.

Sanchez likes to roam across the pitch, while Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard occupy the half spaces and those small pockets near the top of the box. Unfortunately for United, they ended up crowding the same area of the field.

Lack of Lukaku

Another factor in United’s tepid attack was the absence of Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker was not fit enough to start due to an ankle injury, which has kept him out of the lineup since April 29.

Mourinho tends to prefer a striker who can hold up the ball and get other players involved. This stretches the back three and makes United’s movement in the final third less predictable. Rashford likes to make runs off the shoulder of defenders, but he was asked to carry out a similar role, which was clearly uncomfortable for him.

Chelsea’s defence delivers

As flat as United’s attack was, particularly in the first half, Chelsea’s back three and goalkeeper Courtois were immense on Saturday.

Gary Cahill was particularly impressive, which should please England fans ahead of the World Cup. Cahill is obviously very comfortable in a back three, a system that manager Gareth Southgate will likely use in Russia. He’s also the most experienced member of the England squad with 58 caps.

N’Golo Kante should also be highlighted, as he was – not for the first time – incredible on both sides of the ball. He completed six tackles (more than any other Chelsea player), four interceptions and covered a ton of ground, as usual.

Eden Hazard send-off?

Hazard’s penalty in the 22nd minute was the decisive goal, but it was the sequence that led to the penalty that was brilliant to watch.

Hazard, with Phil Jones rushing back to try and close down the space in front of the Belgian, controlled the long pass from Cesc Fabregas with a deft touch. Seeing that there was a lane to run through, Hazard sprinted through, shielded the ball away from Jones and basically dared him to make the challenge. It was all wonderfully executed.

Now that the domestic campaign has finished and the World Cup is on the horizon, Hazard’s future will be a major topic of discussion. He’s 27 years old, he’ll surely be a key figure for Belgium in Russia and Chelsea won’t be playing in the Champions League next season. All of these factors could lead to a move.

Of course, that is all hearsay at this stage. But if this was Hazard’s final game for Chelsea, that is quite a send-off.

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