Leicester City Are English FA Cup Champions!

*Defeat Chelsea 1-0 to claim their first ever FA Cup victory

Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency report

Nigerian internationals, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho, and their Leicester City teammates were crown winners of the oldest football tournament on planet earth yesterday evening after a 1-0 defeat of Chelsea at the Wembley to win the English FA Cup.

Youri Tielemans produced one of the greatest FA Cup final goals to give Leicester City the trophy for the first time in their history.

The Belgian settled a closely contested encounter with a spectacular right-foot drive that flew beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga into the top corner from 25 yards in the 63rd minute.

It sent manager Brendan Rodgers down the touchline in celebration although Leicester City’s fans – inside Wembley as 21,000 supporters formed the biggest attendance since lockdown – had to survive a nerve-jangling closing phase before they could celebrate the win in their first final since 1969.

The Foxes were indebted to two crucial saves from keeper Kasper Schmeichel, who turned former Leicester defender Ben Chilwell’s header on to a post then produced an even better stop to turn Mason Mount’s powerful shot wide.

And in a final act of drama, Wes Morgan bundled into his own net following a last-minute goalmouth scramble before it was ruled out by the barest of margins following the intervention of VAR.

Leicester closed out the win to spark emotional scenes as those inside Wembley rejoiced in a landmark victory.

Foxes boss Rodgers had a smile that illuminated Wembley as he joined Leicester City’s players in joyous scenes of celebration after the manager and his players had written their name into the club’s folklore.

Tielemans, the gifted 24-year-old, will claim the glory for the sheer quality of the strike that won this FA Cup final and the rest of his performance oozed the quality that saw him named man of the match.

The Foxes had heroes elsewhere, particularly in veteran keeper Schmeichel, who was well protected for most of the match but made a huge contribution when required. His second key save from Mount, one-handed diving away to his left, even had Rodgers turning around and blowing out his cheeks in relief and admiration.

Youngster Luke Thomas was composed and Leicester even survived the premature loss of the experienced and influential defender Jonny Evans, who was a doubt before the game and suffered a recurrence of his heel injury, to keep Chelsea at bay.

And for Rodgers, who cleaned up with Celtic in Scotland, this was another significant addition to his CV, as his expert guidance of Leicester – who are in a strong position to finish in the Premier League’s top four and face Chelsea again at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday – now has a tangible reward in the shape of the FA Cup.

This was the result of outstanding work by Rodgers and his players and the rest of the season may yet produce another high point if they can clinch a place in next season’s Champions League.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed he was in “angry mode” after the surprise home loss to Arsenal suddenly put pressure on their top-four hopes in the Premier League – although the Champions League final against Manchester City could yet prove the most glittering safety net.

He certainly looked an angry man throughout this final, the body language increasingly frustrated right up until that final twist when a late equaliser was snatched from Chelsea’s grasp by VAR.

Chelsea now face a massive game against these same opponents in midweek but they will have to recover swiftly from this disappointment and the knowledge they did not do themselves justice.