Chelsea see off Saints to reach another final

Chelsea 2 Southampton 0

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Goals from Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata took Chelsea through to the FA Cup final.

Giroud netted 28 seconds into the second half and substitute Morata headed in with eight minutes remaining.

Last year’s runners up, who will face Manchester United in next month’s final, went ahead after Cesc Fabregas’ ball into the box was brought down by Eden Hazard, who touched it on to Giroud near the edge of the penalty area.

The Frenchman did the rest, managing to evade four Southampton defenders and keeper Alex McCarthy before stabbing home.

Chelsea had dominated large spells of the first half and Willian hit the bar after eight minutes.

After former Blues midfielder Oriol Romeu lost possession, Hazard sprinted forward and laid the ball off to Willian, who cut inside another ex-Chelsea man, Ryan Bertrand, and smashed a left-footed strike against the woodwork.

Southampton did threaten after Giroud’s goal, with keeper Willy Caballero stopping a long-range effort from substitute Nathan Redmond and later being given the benefit of the doubt by referee Martin Atkinson, who decided the Argentine was unfairly nudged by Charlie Austin when the ball crossed the line after Caballero flapped at a high ball.

But the semi-final swung decisively in Chelsea’s favour when Morata nodded in Cesar Azpilicueta’s right-wing cross just after coming on for Giroud.

Austin then hit the post from a tight angle and Morata was denied a second by Maya Yoshida’s goal-line block and a fine save from McCarthy.