LONDON: A flash of attacking brilliance from Olivier Giroud and an emphatic header from substitute Alvaro Morata earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over struggling Southampton at Wembley on Sunday and an FA Cup final date with Manchester United next month.

Giroud, who had been selected ahead of Morata to spearhead Chelsea’s attack, scored the first goal within 30 seconds of the second half starting with a mesmerizing piece of dribbling deep inside the Southampton penalty area.

Having been found by Hazard, the Frenchman picked his way past Southampton defenders to leave himself a simple tap-in from close range.

“I love to play here [Wembley] and I have been unbeaten here so hopefully for the final we are going to keep it up,” Giroud, whose Arsenal side beat Chelsea in the final last year, told BT sport.

Morata, who came on for Giroud, made it two in the 82nd minute, nodding Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross into the net.

Relegation-threatened Southampton were outplayed for most of the match, but defended manfully during a dour first half, during which Chelsea forward Willian hit the crossbar.

The Saints were forced to move out of their half after Giroud’s goal and came close to equalising in the 72nd minute when Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero’s save kept out Nathan Redmond’s rasping shot.

They also had a possible goal not given when Charlie Austin was judged to have fouled the keeper. Austin then hit the post in the dying minutes of the game.

Chelsea will meet Jose Mourinho’s United at Wembley on May 19 after the Manchester side beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the first semi-final on Saturday.

The clash will have added spice because of the tension between former Chelsea boss Mourinho and current coach Antonio Conte.

The last time Chelsea and United contested the final was in 2007 when Didier Drogba scored the solitary goal for Chelsea deep in extra-time.

On Saturday, United inflicted yet more semi-final misery on Tottenham as Alexis Sanchez helped inspire a comeback victory.

Tottenham, playing on the ground which has been their temporary home all season, got off to a dream start when Dele Alli scored from close range but Sanchez maintained his superb record at Wembley with a headed equaliser.

A tight game was settled just past the hour mark when Ander Herrera fired United in front.

While United, who will play in their 20th FA Cup final, can look forward to the prospect of finishing the season with some silverware, Tottenham must pick themselves up after an eighth successive semi-final loss in the competition.

“We can’t keep doing this,” Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli said. “We can’t throw it away. We have got to improve.”

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino played down the importance of winning his first silverware as a coach to back up four years of undoubted progress at Tottenham beforehand, claiming it “wouldn’t change their lives”.

In contrast to Spurs’ long wait for silverware, United are into a third final in less than two years under Jose Mourinho having won the League Cup and Europa League last season.

“We deserve it. If we split the match into periods we were the best team for many of these periods,” Mourinho said. “We lost control after the 1-0. At halftime we spoke — we came back late for the second half because we spoke a lot — and organised ourselves.”

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2018