Leicester City are FA Cup winners. Drink it in. Enjoy the moment. Following four finals as runners-up, the City finally marked the end of a 52-year drought by winning the first FA Cup of the club’s history. Such a story is a further victory for the underdog and another act of defiance against the established elite.
The return of 22,000 fans to Wembley hopefully signals the start of a return to normality. Despite only 6,250 Foxes fans being present, they certainly made their voices heard, drowning out the Chelsea support for large periods of the game.
With a raucous atmosphere filling the stadium, the first half saw Chelsea dominate possession without creating clear-cut chances. In the second half, this trend continued until Leicester struck with a glorious long-range thunderbolt from Youri Tielemans. After this, Chelsea piled on the pressure only to be thwarted by VAR and goalkeeping heroics. Thus, following five agonising minutes of injury time, the Foxes finally ended their overlong wait for FA Cup success.
After the drama and emotions, summarising the match into just five points is difficult but here they are:
1. No Evans is no problem for Leicester City
Remember after the Newcastle match, when the absence of Jonny Evans resulted in the feeble collapse of Leicester’s defence? Although the Northern Irish stalwart started today’s game, he lasted just 34 minutes before succumbing to injury.
At the time, it was a massive blow to Leicester’s hopes, but unlike two weeks ago, City’s defence looked more rather than less secure.
With Wesley Fofana putting in a mature display once again, Chelsea rarely troubled Schmeichel’s goal until the last 10 minutes, a statement that the other defenders can cope without Evans’ presence after all.
After the end of Ramadan, it is no surprise that the Frenchman is putting in improved displays, with the physical toll on his body much less taxing after ending a gruelling period of fasting.
2. Chilwell’s pre-match comments come back to bite
Ben Chilwell certainly set the tone for the game with an inflammatory interview, where he expressed his immense desire to beat his former employers.
Further reports of him expressing his ‘dream’ to play for Chelsea with Thiago Silva, despite being a Leicester player at the time, added further fuel to the fire. Come on Ben, wasn’t playing alongside Jonny Evans good enough?
Coming on as a second-half substitute, Chilwell was booed after every touch by the Leicester support, and deservedly so. He so nearly got his revenge, assisting the Chelsea equaliser before proceeding to celebrate shamelessly in front of the Foxes fans. Yet, VAR stepped in to save the day, deeming the full-back to be marginally offside.
It is ironic that Chilwell left Leicester to win trophies, only to end up watching his former club lift the FA Cup. The shift of elation to despair on the Englishman’s face in the space of minutes was poetic justice at its finest.
Like Mahrez, Chilwell has shown a lack of respect for his former employees who made him into the player he was. He needn’t look too far for teammate N’Golo Kante as an example of how to earn the courtesy of LCFC fans. Nevertheless, the antics of an ex-player must not detract from the magnitude of this triumph.
3. A stick of dynamite from the starman
Youri Tielemans take a bow. Everyone knew he had the ability in his right foot, but such quality had been sorely missing from his many previous attempts. Until today. As the ‘Starman’ picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, there was only one thing in his mind as he fired a howitzer into Kepa’s top corner.
To find the target, let alone beat the keeper from this distance was simply wondrous and the sheer quality of the strike alone was worthy of victory. As the ball hit the back of the net, Gary Lineker and 6,000 delirious fans were on their feet, with limbs flailing wildly everywhere. What a way to announce the return of football with fans.
Apart from the goal Tielemans displayed the other side of his game, with industrious tackles and astute passes, demonstrating his all-round class.
Angry Chelsea fans will point to the ball rebounding off Peréz’s knee onto his arm beforehand, but this was irrelevant as the Spaniard did not directly create the goal itself with his interception. Such technicalities understandably anger supporters of the Pensioners but are irrelevant for Leicester City.
4. The Great Dane delivers
Whilst Tielemans’ screamer will grab all the headlines, the quality of Kasper Schmeichel was as, if not more crucial to the Foxes victory. The first save, ironically from Ben Chilwell, required marvellous dexterity to turn the ball onto the post. Yet, unwilling to be satisfied with this, the Great Dane produced an even better stop just 10 minutes after the first.
Mason Mount’s powerful shot seemed destined to be nestling in the bottom corner, only to be met with an inexorably strong hand from Leicester’s number one.
The quality of the save was shown by the look of astonishment on Mount’s face and had Leicester fans everywhere on their feet in admiration, with chants of “Schmeichel, Schmeichel” reverberating around Wembley.
At key times throughout his Leicester career, Schmeichel has delivered where it matters, and such stops merely add to his growing catalogue of match-winning moments.
5. Vardy’s record-breaking statistic and Rodgers’ finals record
Just by stepping onto the Wembley green, Jamie Vardy wrote his name into the history books, becoming the first player to play in every round of the FA Cup. Although the Sheffield-born striker was unable to get on the scoresheet, he was a nuisance for Thiago Silva all game.
Vardy now can claim to have done the ultimate ‘rags-to riches’ journey, from his preliminary round goal for Stocksbridge Park Steels to contributing towards an FA Cup final victory.
Moreover, Leicester’s conquest also adds to Rodgers’ excellent record in finals, with this being his sixth success on the big occasion. Even if most of these occurred in Scotland, claiming England’s oldest trophy surely puts the notion of being a ‘serial bottler’ to bed and is a testament to Rodgers’ deserved reputation.
A tribute to the owners of Leicester City FC
This one is for you Vichai. Not to mention the current chairman Khun Top. What an experience for our club, and hopefully a terrific campaign can be capped off with securing a Champions League place.
When Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha announced in 2014 that Leicester would achieve a top-five finish within three years, most people simply laughed. Well, fast-forward to 2021, and the Foxes have won the Premier League, FA Cup and broken into the top-six. Talk about living the dream.
Seeing Khun Top lift the trophy and look to the skies, simply added to the incredible emotions of the occasion. Yes, Champions League football remains financially important, but the ecstasy of winning a trophy remains unparalleled.
His family have transformed this club and made the wildest dreams of fans come true. At a time of fan protests against the Glazers and other owners, ‘little’ Leicester provide a refreshing contrast.
One cup final has been won, and such euphoric moments must be enjoyed. Nevertheless, the focus must turn to Tuesday’s second ‘cup final’ against Chelsea, with a victory securing a top-four finish. After this, Leicester will be able to truly celebrate another momentous campaign.