Historic FA Cup Final poised as Chelsea face Leicester City

FA Cup Final: Chelsea and Leicester City prepare for historic Wembley bout

By
JakeStokes
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FA Cup Final: Chelsea and Leicester City prepare for Wembley bout. Photo by Jake Stokes.

Chelsea face Leicester City at Wembley in a historic 140th FA Cup final as the Blues look to sustain their 101-year unbeaten streak against the Foxes in the competition.

Thomas Tuchel booked an extended honeymoon period with the Blues as they cruised past Premier League leaders Manchester City 1-0.

Meanwhile, the Foxes rustled their way past Southampton winning 1-0 thanks to a second half goal by Kelechi Iheanacho.

As the Foxes look to cross the bridge and win their first ever FA Cup trophy, StoryHub brings you everything you need to know about the two teams’ journey to the final.

101 years of suffering

Chelsea first faced Leicester City in the FA Cup back in 1920 as the Blues waltzed away 3-0 victors thanks to goals from John Browning, John Cock and Henry Ford.

Then, after 26 years the two sides soon met in the FA Cup again: twice in eleven days. However, once again Chelsea evaded defeat drawing 1-1 in the first leg and winning 2-0 in the second.

Since then, the pair how faced each other six times in the FA Cup with the Foxes failing to win any.

Chelsea: Road to the Final

With Frank Lampard in the front seat, the Blues began their FA Cup road-trip as they faced Morecambe in the Third Round. Chelsea went on to win 4-0 thanks to goals from Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Kai Havertz.

Round Four saw the Blues welcome Luton Town to Stamford Bridge and Lampard was edging ever closer to being sacked meaning an eerie atmosphere flooded the Bridge.

However, among all the doom and gloom surrounding the club, a star shone through as if a new chapter in Chelsea’s history had begun – Mount captaining his boyhood club for the first time.

The Fifth Round approached, and the Blues had a new manager at the helm, Tuchel. The German renaissance had started.

Tuchel led the Blues into the Sixth Round as Chelsea defeated an impressive Barnsley side 1-0.

Flying high, like the Blue flag, the Blues then cruised past Sheffield United and then Manchester City into the final.

Leicester City: Road to the Final

The Foxes begun their FA Cup campaign with a 4-0 win over Stoke City in the Third Round thanks to goals from Marc Albrighton, Ayoze Perez, Harvey Barnes as well as an incredible strike from James Justin which saw him cut inside from the left and curl the ball into the top right-hand corner.

As Brendan Rodgers continued to work his magic with Leicester in the Premier League, the Foxes faced Brentford in the Fourth Round.

Goals from Cengiz Under, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison were enough to send Leicester into the Fifth Round beating the Bees 3-1.

The Foxes then eased past Brighton, breezing into the quarterfinals, however, Rodgers’ side were in for the toughest clash yet, Manchester United.

Iheanacho opened the scoring in the quarter final before Mason Greenwood replied almost instantly. Then, moments into the second half, Tielemans put the Foxes ahead once again before the ‘Seniorman’ Iheanacho booked Leicester’s semi-final shot at Wembley.

Southampton stood in the Foxes’ way. But, Iheanacho continued his red-hot form, following his March 2021 Premier Player of the Month award, as he bagged the winner to send his side into the FA Cup Final.

So who will be victorious and lift the famous trophy? We’ll have to wait and see what the FA Cup Final brings on May 15.

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