72 min Big sub for City. Tevez is heading off and Javia Garcia enters the fray. Defensive midfielder for a striker. Telling.
69 min Chance! Great run from Hazard ends with Mata through on goal but Pantimillon does superbly to get some hands on the ball as Mata tried to round him. Never a penalty despite Mata's attempts to buy one.
66 min GOAL! Chelsea 1 - Manchester City 2 (Ba) Cracking finish from the big man! He latches onto a long, bouncing ball in the box, turns Nastasic, and fires a sizzling half-volley past Pantimillon.
65 min Chance! Ramires' peels away from the far defender but cannot get enough power behind his header to truly test Pantimillon.
60 min Nasri and Tevez combine down the left but the promising moves comes unstuck when Barry's heavy touch lets him down.
55 min Tevez storms towards goal and has Aguero making a really good run to his left. He - eventually - passes but there's not enough power behind it and the Chelsea defence comes across before Aguero can profit.
54 min It's gone a bit flat at Wembley. Seems like collectively everyone - fans, players, coaches - have decided that Aguero's header killed off this contest.
51 min Chelsea with a rare forray into City territory. But it doesn't last long, Nastasic heading away Mata's cross.
47 min GOAL! Chelsea 0 - Manchester City 2 (Aguero) City take the free-kick short and the ball is floated into the box by Gareth Barry. Aguero is unmarked in the middle - Azpilicueta was half asleep - and loops a header past Cech to pretty much kill off the tie. Lovely finish.
46 min Ba and Mata get us started up again. Clive Tyldesley has a moan about the Club Wembley people not being back in their seats. I'm not sure he realises just how frickin' sweet Club Wembley is. Or is he one of those people who doesn't like free beer?
Can't believe Nastasic only 20. So mature in reading danger, blocking, clearing. City staff say he's so relaxed off pitch, joy to work with.
16.54 WRAP Excellent first-half performance from Manchester City, who played some lovely stuff in attack and rarely broke sweat in defence. 1-0, if anything, is a poor reflection of their dominance and Roberto Mancini may be a little disappointed his side didn't add to that scrappy Nasri opener. What of Chelsea? City seem to be passing through them with consumate ease, so they need to sort that out. But in attack they've shown some glimpses of creativity that could pose a threat to City at some point. All said, if this game continues to follow the first-half script then City fans can begin to make plans for a return to London for the final. See you in 10.
45+2 min Chance! Kompany with a shocking miss! A superb counter attack from City ends with a poor ball from Milner. It's dangerous enough, though, to make Cech parry it into the path of Komapny but the captain can only shoot wide of the keeper's left post. That's half-time.
45+1 min David Luiz shows what a great player he can be with some fantastic defending to muscle a slaloming Sergio Aguero off the ball in the Chelsea box.
Mancini will last longer, because in both cases the owners are witless so City will keep a poor manager and Chelsea sack as decent one. As to who should be fired clearly Mancini - with the resources he has the achievement is pitiful.
39 min Chance! Probably should be 2-0! Aguero fights his way into the box but the ball doesn't quite break for him to shoot. Instead it deflects to James Milner but he can only fire the ball straight at Aguero and Cech is fortunate to claim the rebound. Ah, there was an offside flag anyway.
38 min Jeers and wolf whistles for Mata as his curling effort whips past Pantimillion's left post and out for a goal-kick.
35 min GOAL! Chelsea 0 - Manchester City 1 (Nasri) Yaya Toure drives towards the Chelsea box, squares it to Aguero, who tees up the onrushing Nasri. The French midfielder gets a slice of the luck as the ball deflects off a Chelsea defender and sits up perfectly for him to prod it past Cech for a deserved opener.
33 min "It's like a great NBA game," says Tyldesley, ignoring the fact that basketball is lame American tosh and football is much, much better.
32 min Aguero and Tevez combine and the latter drives towards goal but the promising move breaks down when Milner loses the ball.
31 min Goal kick to City as Clichy knocked his clearance against Ramires but there's just a sign over the last few minutes that Chelsea are gaining a foothold in this match.
30 min I could have sworn Clive Tyldesley just became the latest person to confuse referee Chris Foy with cyclist Chris Hoy
27 min Chance! Ba latches onto Mikel's free-kick but is caught in two minds on whether to control or volley - 1/4 final replay v United style - but settles on a fudge that results in him miscontrolling and the ball rolling away for a goal-kick.
25 min Free-kick to Chelsea after fouls on Ramires and Mata. Ramires was cynically barged to the deck by a flying Gareth Barry, who is promptly booked.
24 min Chance! Kompany comes off the line to head Hazard's volley away from danger after Pantilimon had gone wakabout.
23 min Careless challenge from Kompany on Ba gives Juan Mata the chance to curl a free-kick into the box for the waiting Chelsea players.
22 min Chance! Tevez's shot is blocked by Bertrand. They really are under the cosh here. Feels like a matter of time before City take the lead.
20 min Chance! Ivanovic blocks a goalbound Aguero shot after a gorgeous defence-splitting long ball from the back. Ivanovic was guilty of some sleepy defending to allow Aguero to chest the ball down and shoot but he did well to recover and block the shot.
17 min The first ugly moment of the match as Zabaleta brings down Oscar with a crude challenge. Chris Foy decides not to produce the yellow though. Lucky for Zaba, he was well and truly merked.
I think Mancini will stay in his job longer. Benitez has a death sentence with his time at Chelsea coming to an end whether or not he achieves Europa league and FA Cup glory. Chelsea fans detest him despite his cup efforts and Chelsea already seem to be looking for their 10th manager in as many years with old boss, the self proclaimed 'Special One' Mourinho rumoured to be on the radar. On the other hand, Mancini is adored by City fans and players alike. Gael Clichy said it would be a "Step back" if Mancini left. City seem to have a future with Mancini, especially as he has recently secured the signature of Yaya Toure. Macini will stay. Benitez will go.
13 min Milner, Barry and Zabaleta knock the ball around like they've gathered in a London park for a kickabout in the sun. Technically, they have. Very attractive start from City. Will the dam burst soon?
7 min City are absolutely bossing this match. Their forward players are really enjoying themselves and not facing too much resistance from Chelsea.
6 min Chance! Cech with a smart stop to deny Aguero's close-range poke after Barry drove the ball back in after it was half-cleared from a corner.
5 min Chelsea have finally got off the bus and arrived for this semi-final. They have a few touches in midfield before promptly losing the ball.
4 min A waste from Aguero. He shoots from a tricky angle instead of cutting the ball across goal and, predictably, his effort goes wide.
3 min Long ball from Luiz for Ba to chase but he's up against Kompany - no mug - who excels in his first defensive test, shielding the ball before passing it to his keeper.
2 min City dominating possession in these opening minutes. They're looking very comfortable on the ball and their fans are in fine fettle too, Poznan-ing like it's 2012.
David [Silva] was not ready - it was a risk and we preferred to not take that risk. Pantilimon always plays in the Cup. I think it will be hard because Chelsea are a very good side.
15.51 Fans of mid-noughties indie will be happy to hear that Reverend and The Makers and The Enemy have played live at Wembley this afternoon.
As things stand Benítez will be a free agent after Chelsea's final game of the season, a friendly against Manchester City in New York on May 26. He could depart with two more medals to his name – Chelsea meet FC Basle in the Europa League last four after Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with City – and has expressed his desire to secure a job at one of Europe's leading clubs, possibly in England.
Expected Chelsea team but still a huge call from Benitez. Lampard and Terry not in what he surely regards as his best team.
15.20 Why are Chelsea so good at cup competitions? Jeremy Wilson lists five reasons, and builds on them. But I've digested them below:
1. The Didier factor2. Managerial pressure-cooker3. Strength of Premier League elite 4. Big-game British core5. Luck of the draw
15.16 TEAM NEWS Wow. No John Terry or Frank Lampard for Chelsea. Before today neither of them had missed a single minute of any of Chelsea's FA Cup semi-finals or finals since 2006.
Chelsea: Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Bertrand; Ramires, Mikel; Hazard, Mata, Oscar; Ba.Subs: Turnbull, Terry, Ake, Lampard, Benayoun, Moses, Torres.
15.07 TEAM NEWS As expected it's Costel Pantilimon - who has started every FA Cup game to date - between the sticks for City. Elsewhere David Silva misses out with a hamstring injury but Sergio Aguero is back in the side after scoring the winner against Manchester United from the bench.
Manchester City: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Clichy, Kompany, Nastasic, Barry, Milner, Y Toure, Nasri, Aguero, Tevez.Subs: Hart, K Toure, Lescott, Kolarov, Garcia, Sinclair, Dzeko
15.00 Good afternoon and thanks for joining me for live coverage of this second FA Cup semi-final, which pits big-spending Chelsea and even-bigger-spending Manchester City in a fight for the right to play Wigan.
Both sides have struggled to meet the lofty ambitions of their supporters this season but a win at a sunny Wembley – and a further visit for the final next month – could really brighten up their season. City, who are yet to concede in this competition this season, have swept all before them, playing with an authority that suggests they will be very, very keen on a win this afternoon. But Chelsea have one thing massively in their favour: pedigree. They have lifted the trophy four times in the last six years and, excluding penalty shoot-outs, are unbeaten in their last 29 FA Cup matches; winning 23 and drawing six.
Match NotesChelsea, despite all the glum faces around Stamford Bridge, are still on course for two trophies following their passage to the Europa League semi-final and a clash with Basle.
Their record in the FA Cup is second to none, at least in recent years, but they must overcome the 2011 winners and a club still buzzing from their Old Trafford triumph.
City are bidding for a third trophy in three years; it may not be the Champions League or Premier League but fans with long memories of nothing but failure will settle for that.
Chelsea are now unbeaten in 29 FA Cup games (excluding penalty shoot-outs). It is the longest ever run without defeat by a single side.
City have never lost an FA Cup game when Carlos Tévez has played. The City striker has featured in 11 and City have won 10 and drawn one.
Link: [Live -] Online - TV] Sogndal - Sarpsborg - Norwegian Elitserien
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