Chelsea have come through in the last minute on so many occasions this season, that the Blues faithful were hoping for another eleventh hour trick. That was not to be as Jason Roberts neutralized Frank Lampard's 16th minute strike. Mourinho's men were staring at a possible penalty shootout when early in the second extra time, Ballack worked his magic.

Chelsea had begun the game efficiently in front of several rows of empty seats at Old Trafford. Watched impassively by owner Roman Abramovich, the Blues effortlessly contained Blackburn in the initial minutes. They had their chance when Petr Cech's long goal-kick landed at Didier Drogba's feet.

The strong Ivorian held off a challenge from Christopher Samba to send the ball toward Ballack who slid it in Lampard's way, who then efficiently sided away from a Ryan Nelsen challenge to send the ball into Brad Friedel's net. From then it was all Chelsea as they threatened to put the game beyond Rovers' reach in the first 45 minutes.

However David Dunn seemed to wake up late in the half to send a screamer from 20 yards only to find Cech. Chelsea should have doubled their lead after the break, but Shevchenko comically fluffed his straightforward attempt in front of the goal. He was replaced by Kalou in the 63rd minute.

Blackburn had grown increasingly confident and conducted several attacks into the Chelsea penalty area. Roberts had a shot saved by Cech before he latched onto a deflection to put the ball beyond the Chelsea keeper. Pedersen almost gave Rovers a neat win on 82 minutes, but his header went inches wide.

Cech was called to the rescue again to prevent John Terry scoring an own goal in the final minutes. In extra time both teams pressed for the winner, but Chelsea kept cool heads and early in the second half were rewarded by a Ballack trademark goal.

The win keeps the Stamford Bridge team in the hunt for an unprecedented Quadruple having won the Carling Cup earlier this year. They trail Manchester United by three points in the Premiership and are in the Champions' League semi-finals as well.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was delighted to still be in the contention for all four trophies. He reserved special praise for Ballack who he called a through professional. "Michael Ballack has been a top professional since day one. He fights for the team in an unbelievable way and is doing a very good job for us," he said.

Mourinho is also looking forward to a Wembley showdown against Manchester United, "This will be a big, big final, no question. Both teams have been unbelievable - it will be like a dream for me," he added.

Blackburn boss Mark Hughes said his team were exceptional on the field, but still ended up losers, "We'll take credit for the way we played today, of course. We put in some huge performances and made an outstanding team look ordinary," he said.

Chelsea and Manchester United clash in the final on May 19.
 

Be first to comment this article

Write Comment

Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
BBCode:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4