London May 15, 2021 (AFP) – Leicester won the FA Cup for the first time in its 137-year history, beating Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday, in the final match at Wembley Stadium, attended by 22,000 spectators.
The goal that secured the unprecedented title for “The Foxes” was scored by Belgian midfielder Yuri Tilmans, in the 63rd minute, after a powerful shot from outside the area.
Chelsea could have forced extra time when defender Wes Morgan scored in the minute before the end of the match, but the referee ended up canceling play after the video assistant referee’s review, referring to the infiltration of left-back Ben Chilwell.
The defeat is a dangerous warning for the London team led by Thomas Tuchel, who has not yet secured a place in the next Champions League, and who within two weeks will reach the final of the continental championship with Manchester City.
For Leicester, this is the second major success in its history, after a surprise victory in the English championship five years ago.
Prior to this unprecedented FA Cup win, Leicester were runners-up in four other finals in this competition, the last of which was 52 years ago.
This Saturday’s decision was also based on having 22,000 fans at what is, by far, the largest gathering of spectators at a UK sporting event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
kca / mcd / dr / lca
