Chelsea Win FA Cup Final!!!!

FA Cup - Lampard screamer wins it for Chelsea


Frank Lampard scored a stunning winner as Chelsea came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 and win the FA Cup final at Wembley.

Lampard fired home from 25 yards to give Chelsea their fifth FA Cup triumph and provide departing manager Guus Hiddink a glorious send-off.

Louis Saha struck with just 25 seconds on the clock to put Everton ahead, before Chelsea drew level through Didier Drogba's header midway through the first half.

Chelsea's superiority told in the second half and after Lampard struck, Hiddink's men should have been awarded a third goal when Florent Malouda's long-range effort hit the bar and went over the line.

Everton were making their first cup final appearance since 1997, but David Moyes's side came out of the blocks firing and could not have got off to better start in searing Wembley heat.

When Steven Pienaar found space on the left, his deflected ball was headed into the path of Saha by Marouane Fellaini.

Saha took his opportunity superbly, fizzing a volley past Petr Cech from just inside the box to give Everton a sensational lead, and in so doing record the fastest goal in FA Cup final history.

For a brief period Chelsea looked shell-shocked, but Hiddink's men soon gathered themselves and began to assert real pressure on the Everton goal.

On 13 minutes Drogba's persistence on the left led to a chance for Michael Essien, but he blazed his shot over the bar from 20 yards.

Everton were defending in numbers, but they could do nothing to stop Chelsea pulling level through Drogba on 21 minutes.

Nicolas Anelka started the move, drifting across from right to left before playing in Malouda on the touchline.

The impressive Malouda set himself, before curling in an inch-perfect cross that Drogba headed powerfully past Tim Howard to make it 1-1.

Chelsea continued to press, but in committing numbers forward always looked susceptible to the counter-attack.

Saha released Tim Cahill on the half-hour mark, but Cech was alert to the danger and just got there ahead of the Australian.

The final chance of the half fell to Chelsea's Ashley Cole, who got in behind Tony Hibbert, but fired well over the bar from a tight angle.

Chelsea came out for the second half in dominant mood.

On 59 minutes Malouda put Anelka through on goal, but the Frenchman's lob sailed over the bar with Howard beaten.

Everton struggled to create chances, and when Saha headed over from Leighton Baines's cross on 67 minutes, it proved their last genuine opening.

Five minutes later Chelsea found a winner, when Lampard twisted away from Phil Neville and shot left-footed past Howard from 25 yards.

Soon after Malouda's spectacular effort struck the underside of the bar and bounced out - only for replays to show the ball clearly crossed the line.

In the dying minutes Everton pressed hard for an equaliser, but it was Chelsea who continued to threaten - Anelka chipping over the bar after being sent through by Lampard.

Chelsea held on and deservedly claimed their first trophy for two years, in so doing handing man-of-the-match Cole a record fifth FA Cup winners' medal.

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