Chelsea have discovered their route to the FA Youth Cup final after the draw for quarterfinals and semifinals was announced. Since the third round, Chelsea have taken down Leyton United, Watford, and Liverpool in the subsequent rounds. The Blues and Manchester United now remain clear favorites as Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Tottenham youth teams are all out.
Chelsea knocked out bitter rivals Liverpool in the last round in what was an epic encounter. The game saw 7 goals as Chelsea topped Liverpool 4-3. Liverpool were 3 goals up by the hour-mark and had already set their sights on the next round. But Chelsea turned the tables in the last 20 minutes as they made Liverpool look like chumps. Charlie Webster and Jude Soonsup-Bell struck a goal each within 7 minutes to make it 3-2. Malik Maine Mothersille slotted the equalizer in the 87th minute and before Liverpool could think of the extra-time, Tudor Mendel-Idowu dropped a bombshell on the Reds by scoring the winner in the 5th minute of the added time.
Chelsea and their route to FA Youth Cup final
In the draw released for the quarter-final and semi-final, Chelsea now face Blackpool in the quarters. The Seasiders have knocked-out Huddersfield Town, Cheltenham, and Newcastle United to reach the quarterfinals. Chelsea would then face either Blackburn Rovers or Nottingham Forrest in the semi-final. In the other half, record winners Manchester United face Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers face Brighton and Hove Albion. 10-time winners United could then face Wolves or Brighton in the other semi-final match-up.
Chelsea will be rooting to win their 10th FA Youth Cup going on level with Manchester United for the most wins. Moreover, the Blues have won a staggering 7 FA Youth Cups since the 2009/10 season. Moreover, what is more, astounding is when Chelsea won the cup for 5 consecutive times from 2013-14 to 2017-18. The FA Youth Cup final was a matter of two legs till 2017, but since the 2018-19 season, the FA has made it a single-match affair. Chelsea were last seen in the FA Youth Cup final in the 2019-20 season when their hearts were broken in the 83rd minute by a Cole Palmer winner for Manchester City.
Chelsea have been in quite a splendid form on the back of their brilliant young talents in Harvey Vale, Xavier Simons, Jude Soonsup-Bell, Malik Mothersille, and Lewis Hall. Mothersille is the side’s top-scorer with 3 goals, followed by Soonsup-Bell and Vale who have 2 goals each. No matter what the campaign has for Chelsea, the club keeps on producing one of the finest young talents. From their current side Harvey Vale, Xavier Simons, Jude Soonsup-Bell made their debuts for the Chelsea first team this season. Chelsea plays their quarter-final on 24th this month at home.
