Sunday, May 16, 2021

LEICESTER LIFT FIRST EVER FA CUP

In their 137-year history, Leicester City had never previously won the FA Cup. They had reached four finals and lost them all. However, a superb long-range strike from Youri Tielemans gave Leicester City their first FA Cup triumph with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

21,000 fans returned to the stadium after last year's final was played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. Leicester's owner, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha was invited on to the field to celebrate with his team. His father, Vichai, whose ownership helped to transform the Midlands club, died in 2018 in a helicopter crash at Leicester's stadium.

TIGERS UNITED

Chelsea dominated the first half but could not find the net, and Leicester lost their centre half Jonny Evans in the 34th minute due to injury. Then in the 63rd minute, Tielemans collected the ball and moved forward. As the Chelsea defence backed off he launched a magnificient shot to beat Kepe Arrizabalaga.

There was late drama when Wes Morgan put through his own goal in the 89th minute to get Chelsea thinking they were taking the game into extra-time, only for VAR to rule it out for offside. The final whistle prompted emotional celebrations from Leicester. Team manager Brendan Rodgers also earned his first trophy in English football after his successes in Scotland with Celtic.

TIGERS SUPER SPORTS

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