Chelsea produced a lackluster Premier League title defense this season and the last thing the players want is to sign off the campaign, and in all probability Antonio Conte’s reign as manager, with a second consecutive FA Cup final defeat.
Motivation will be sky high, for more reasons than one, when Chelsea today take on the most successful coach in their history, Jose Mourinho, and his Manchester United side at Wembley Stadium in London.
“You don’t want to be on the back of losing two FA Cup finals in a row,” midfield playmaker Cesc Fabregas said. “Last year, we didn’t play well. Arsenal were on top of us and I think they deserved to win. It would’ve been a fantastic season winning the double. We have this regret in our head and we want to make it right this time for sure.”
Photo: EPA
Media speculation has been rife for several months that Conte is to leave Chelsea at the end of the campaign.
The former Italy coach has appeared to be at odds with the club’s board all season and a disappointing fifth-placed finish in the league has done little to appease him or his employers.
Conte was also involved in a much-publicized spat with Mourinho, who won the league three times in two spells with Chelsea, earlier this season, although the pair now seem to have resolved their differences.
The Chelsea hierarchy will be desperate to avoid the embarrassment of being on the receiving end of a defeat by Mourinho in the showpiece occasion having fired the charismatic Portuguese coach for the second time in December 2015.
Mourinho guided United to a second-placed finish in the league this season, his second season in charge, and will be intent on putting one over his old club by adding the FA Cup to last year’s EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League triumphs.
Young midfielder Scott McTominay said United’s players are also driven by a desire to win the FA Cup for their former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage.
“We really want to do it for Sir Alex Ferguson as he’s obviously not so well,” McTominay said. “It’s so important to bring home the silverware for him. It’s so important after a long season. It hasn’t quite gone to plan in the league and other cup competitions.”
McTominay, who only broke into the team a year ago, was not involved when United beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in the 2015-2016 FA Cup final.
“To see Jesse Lingard score that [winning] goal was incredible, and it was obviously a moment that him and all of the fans will never forget,” McTominay said. “As a player you have to take as much in as possible and see how the players prepare for the game, particularly the players in your position, just to see how the team chemistry gets going because it’s such a big day.”
“Wembley is such an amazing stadium, it’s the home of English football,” he said. “It’s a place where you want to showcase your skills and go out to do your best for the team.”
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was