Leicester win FA Cup for first time

Tottenham move into sixth place

LONDON, May 16, (AP): Youri Tielemans was preparing for the FA Cup final on Saturday when he received a text message with a clear instruction: Aim for the top corner.
When the ball landed at the Leicester midfielder’s feet, 63 minutes into the 140th final, a powerful shot from 30 meters was aimed just where he had been advised.
It was a sensational way to win the FA Cup for the first time in Leicester’s 137-year history, 1-0 against Champions League finalist Chelsea.
Even sweeter than the strike was Leicester being able to celebrate in front of its own fans as Wembley Stadium hosted England’s biggest crowd - more than 20,000 who tested negative for the coronavirus - in 14 months.
“Wow, what a finish,” Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said. “I didn’t dare to celebrate because there’s always VAR.” Not that time. Instead, the video assistant review came to Leicester’s rescue in the 89th minute to prevent Wes Morgan from a moment of heartache.
The 37-year-old club captain had been on the pitch for only seven minutes when he accidentally deflected in former teammate Ben Chilwell’s cross. But one of those marginal offsides that so irritate players and fans was detected and the roars of Leicester fans were even louder than the moment Tielemans scored.
After losing four finals - the first in 1949 at the old Wembley - Leicester’s name is finally etched onto the cup of world football’s oldest competition. The team from central England is a champion again, five years after Morgan collected the Premier League trophy.
Players - such as Chilwell and N’Golo Kante to Chelsea - have left since that improbable 5,000-1 title triumph but Morgan and matchday captain Schmeichel are still there to celebrate again, this time in a moment tinged with sadness.
Harry Kane endured a frustrating match in his bid to win the Premier League’s Golden Boot for the third time despite scoring in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton on Sunday.
Kane’s 45th-minute goal moved him to a league-leading 22 for the season — one clear of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah — but the England captain also struck the post twice and had an effort cleared off the line.
Kane has two games left while Salah has three, starting with West Bromwich Albion later Sunday. Kane was the league’s top scorer in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who set up Kane for the opening goal with a piercing through-ball, added the second in the 64th minute by tapping in a rebound from close range after Gareth Bale’s shot was saved.
Tottenham moved into sixth place, above West Ham on goal difference, and still has a mathematical — if highly unlikely — chance of finishing in the top four in the race for Champions League qualification after winning three of its last four league games under interim manager Ryan Mason. The team is five points behind fourth-place Chelsea.
Kane could easily have had a hat trick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the striker curling a long-range shot from distance against the base of the post in the fifth minute and then beating goalkeeper Rui Patricio to a high ball only to see his header cleared off the line by backpedaling defender Conor Coady.
Off a sharp counterattack early in the second half, Alli slipped a ball through for Kane but his low shot was tipped onto the post by Patricio. Alli latched onto the rebound but struck the follow-up against the other post.
West Ham might have to settle with qualifying for the Europa League rather than Champions League appear over after a 1-1 draw at Brighton in one of three Premier League games. Saïd Benrahma rescued the point with his first goal for sixth-place West Ham in the 87th minute to cancel out Danny Welbeck’s chipped finish three minutes earlier.
Leeds is on for a top-half finish in its first season back in the Premier League after 16 years. A 4-0 victory over Burnley was started by Mateusz Klich curling in the opener before halftime, followed in the second half by Jack Harrison and Rodrigo’s double.
Fulham, one the three sides already relegated, lost at Southampton 3-1.