Chelsea

1-0

Manchester United

Drogba 116


The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
The Final
3pm, Saturday 19 May 2007
Wembley Stadium
Winning club receives £1,000,000
Listen Live with TheFA.com

Jose Mourinho admitted that Chelsea’s late victory over Manchester United was an historic and special occasion because it was the first FA Cup to be won at the new Wembley.

The Chelsea manager applauded his side’s spirit and ability to carry out his game plan exactly, and saw their 1-0 win as a tribute to FA Cup heroes of the past.

He said: "It is an historic moment for this country and for Chelsea that we won. There is a special regard to the Chelsea old boys who won The Cup all those years ago."

Indeed Ron Harris was one of the old FA Cup heroes paraded before a sell-out crowd before kick-off, and he must have been as proud as Mourinho of the way the current crop of Blues stopped Manchester United’s superstars from strutting their stuff on the big stage before delivering the knock out blow in the 26th minute of extra time.

"We know the way United play but we did not give them the game they wanted," he added.

"We’ve played them three times this season but this was a game we controlled well defensively. I told the players ‘do you want to enjoy the game or enjoy it afterwards?’ so they concentrated on controlling their opponents and that is both physically and mentally very tiring.

"We deserved to win. We were the best team. We did very well. The reason why we were the best is because we believed in ourselves

"Chelsea have had many problems this season but we are always together and we have won two cups, finished second in the Premier League and only lost the Champions League semi-final on penalties.

"Today was about more than The FA Cup because it was the first at the new Wembley, it was against Manchester United and it was an opportunity to say that we have won all the domestic trophies in my three years at the club."

Sir Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, admitted the rigours of a title-winning season took their toll on key players such as Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Two or three players were tired after an exhausting season – and I put Cristiano in that group," he said. "I don’t think we played well although we had our moments and some chances. The pitch was slow and it was a hot day."

He believed United should have had a penalty when Michael Essien appeared to foul Ryan Giggs before the Welshman bundled the ball over the line in the 13th minute of extra time.

"It should have been a penalty, even if the linesman did not see it, the ref should have done, and the fact the ball was over the line only makes it worse.

"We asked the players to pick up the pace in the second half and the first 20 minutes was good but we looked jaded in two or three positions. Today was a tight tactical affair and we were expecting penalties in the end."

But if there was to be a late winner for Chelsea, he half-expected Didier Drogba to score it.

"Drogba was aggressive and a threat that we contained for most of the game, but he has kept Chelsea’s season alive so many times with last-minute goals."

Chelsea
1 Petr Cech, 4 Claude Makelele, 5 Michael Essien, 8 Frank Lampard, 10 Joe Cole (16 Arjen Robben, 46 (3 Ashley Cole, 108)), 11 Didier Drogba, 12 John Obi Mikel, 18 Wayne Bridge, 20 Paulo Ferreira, 24 Shaun Wright-Phillips (21 Salomon Kalou, 94), 26 John Terry (c)
Subs: 23 Carlo Cudicini, 19 Lassana Diarra.

Manager Jose Mourinho

Manchester United
1 Edwin van der Sar, 4 Gabriel Heinze, 5 Rio Ferdinand, 6 Wes Brown, 7 Cristiano Ronaldo, 8 Wayne Rooney, 11 Ryan Giggs (c) (20 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, 112), 15 Nemanja Vidic, 16 Michael Carrick (22 John O'Shea, 112), 18 Paul Scholes, 24 Darren Fletcher (14 Alan Smith, 92)
Subs: 3 Patrice Evra, 29 Thomas Kuszczak

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson

Attendance 89,826

Match Officials
Referee Steve Bennett
Assistant Referees Peter Kirkup and David Bryan
Fourth Official Howard Webb

Chief Guest Prince William

Team Colours
Chelsea Blue shirts, blue shorts, white socks
Manchester United Red shirts, white shorts, black socks

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