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21 May 2007, by Sean Gillen

Late Drogba strike sees Chelsea have last laugh

FA Cup final: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (a.e.t.)

Didier Drogba’s goal in extra time proved the difference as Chelsea beat Manchester United to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley.

A desperately substandard final was settled towards the end of extra time by Chelsea’s star man, as the Blues made up for a disappointing end of season with their second cup of the campaign.

Following weeks of build-up, the match itself got off to a slow start, with the opening twenty minutes passing with barely a shot on goal, before Drogba fired wide from outside the box.

Paulo Ferreira started at right-back for Chelsea, putting him in direct competition with United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Surprisingly, it was the defender who made the first dangerous run, beating Gabriel Heinze before sliding the ball through to Frank Lampard for the midfielder to fire straight at van Der Sar.

Although possession across the afternoon was even, United enjoyed more of the ball in advanced areas, but although Ronaldo got the better of Ferreira on a couple of occasions, the Red Devils struggled to create chances in the first half.

Mourinho was the first to make a change at half time, bringing on Dutch winger Arjen Robben for Joe Cole to add some extra pace in the attacking third. However, United started the second half well, and had the better of the chances in the early stages of the second period.

Wayne Rooney exploded into life in the opening few minutes following the interval with a rasping shot from twenty metres that Cech managed to push away, before Ryan Giggs smashed a volley over the bar at the back post after he was found by Paul Scholes.

Didier Drogba struck outside of the post with a free-kick during a good spell of Chelsea possession, but that was followed by a sensational run by Wayne Rooney that took him past Michael Essien and John Terry before he was blocked by Cech.

After a bright start, the second period soon began to sizzle out and the game took up a slow, predictable pace as the final headed for extra time. Ronaldo, much like his team-mates, has looked tired in recent weeks, and he struggled to have much of an effect on the game. The Portuguese did have the last effort of normal time, though, cutting in from the right onto his left foot and dragging a shot into the side netting.

United had a fantastic chance in the first period of extra time, as Giggs failed to make good contact with a Rooney cross and the ball trickled through to Cech. There were appeals from some United players that the goalkeeper had carried the ball over the line, while there were also suggestions that Essien had fouled Giggs.

Almost 90,000 spectators were preparing themselves for a penalty shootout, but Chelsea once again showed their knack for late goals with a well-crafted winner three minutes from time. Drogba played a neat one-two with Lampard, then raced onto the throughball and poked past the onrushing van Der Sar to settle an incredibly close-fought final.

Alex Ferguson (Manchester United manager):

“It was a penalty kick on Giggs. Then the goalkeeper’s spilled the ball behind the line. I think it will have been a difficult one for the linesman to call but the referee should be in a better position.”

I think the pressure Mourinho put on the referee before the game has certainly worked and I’m disappointed at that. I was disappointed with the referee’s performance, and I think he was influenced by Mourinho’s comments during the weeks. Jose does it all the time, talking about referees and putting them under pressure. Sometimes it works, and I think it did today.”

“There was nothing between the two teams. Neither team deserved to win or lose to be honest. It’s just disappointing we have lost. From our point of view, I think we were a bit tired in two or three positions, which didn’t help us. What the players have been through these last few months has been exceptional, I’ve got to give them credit for that. They just couldn’t cross the line today.”

Jose Mourinho (Chelsea manager):

“The players deserved to win this final trophy of the season and the victory is for them and for the supporters. Only the pressure you put on yourself we you want to win, nothing else.”

“We know the game plan and how to beat them and I think the boys deserved this great moment. We handled Ronaldo very well but our plans were not for Ronaldo - our plans were for Man United. They are a team of quality and for me their best quality is counter-attack.”

“People can think that they are a very dominant team in the game, but I disagree. They kill opponents by counter-attack. So if they kill opponents by counter-attack, that is what you have to stop: first of all no counter-attack; secondly, a minimum of six players behind the ball line so when you lose the ball there you have those six players there.”

“Thirdly, when you can, you do double marking on the wingers. We worked on it during the week, the players understood what to do and you need that little bit of luck to win these big matches, and that was scoring in the last minute, but I think we deserved that.”

Chelsea:
Cech, Ferreira, Bridge, Terry, Essien, Makelele, Mikel, Lampard, Wright-Phillips (Kalou, 93), Cole (Robben, 64; replaced by A.Cole, 108), Drogba
Yellow Cards: Makelele (84), Kalou (120), Ferreira (121), A.Cole (122)

Man United:
Van Der Sar, Brown, Heinze, Vidic, Ferdinand, Carrick (O’Shea, 112), Fletcher (Smith, 92), Scholes, Giggs (Solskjaer, 112), Ronaldo, Rooney
Yellow Cards: Scholes (59), Vidic (85), Smith (105)

Goals:
[1-0] Drogba, 116