Chelsea employ brute force and sorcery to beat Spurs in FA Cup semifinal

by Brooks Peck

I’m not sure this is what they meant by “magic of the FA Cup”

Spurs played about as well as a team can play while still conceding four goals in their 4–2 FA Cup semifinal loss to Chelsea, but they were simply no match for the absurdities of the second half.

Willian twice put Chelsea up a goal in the first half—initially with a free kick, then with a penalty—but Spurs showed their newfound tenacity by equalizing each time. This forced Chelsea to get serious and bring Diego Costa and Eden Hazard off the bench, and Hazard put the Blues up 3–2 in the 75th minute.

Given the previous events of this match, the lead didn’t seem safe. Then Nemanja Matic unleashed Thor’s hammer on the crossbar, forcing the poor woodwork to let the ball pass through the very fibers of its being and across the goal line.

Spurs did attempt to cut into the lead with a late Harry Kane free kick, but Thibaut Courtois cast a spell on the ball, making it spin back into his hands just before it could cross the line.

And when that happens, you know that the heavens have already decided the outcome and nothing more can be done to change it.

Spurs have now lost their last SEVEN FA Cup semifinals (1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2010, 2012, 2017). But more important than all of that: A meme is born.