Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata send Chelsea to final

A fabulous goal from Olivier Giroud and a late header from substitute Alvaro Morata helped Chelsea beat Southampton 2-0 on Sunday and book their place against Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

Chelsea dominated from the start, with Eden Hazard the star of the show, but they didn't open the scoring until 28 seconds into the second-half when the Belgium's flick found Giroud.

Southampton defended resolutely, but rarely ventured into the attacking third. Mario Lemina took their only shot of the first half and Mark Hughes’ nervous-looking side only managed a few touches in the Chelsea area before half time.

The deadlock was broken a few seconds after the break, when Cesc Fabregas launched a long ball into Hazard’s path on the edge of the area. The Belgian controlled it and put it in the path of Giroud, who wrong-footed no fewer than four defenders, before finishing past McCarthy with the outside of his right boot.

Moments later Saints had an excellent opportunity to equalise, when a Charlie Austin dummy allowed the ball to run into Shane Long’s path in the box. The Irish forward squandered the one-on-one situation with a poor touch.

Willy Caballero came close to gifting the Saints a goal when he dropped a corner into the path of Austin but the goal was ruled out for a foul on the Chelsea keeper, with the Southampton forward also hitting the post in the dying minutes.

However, Chelsea sealed the result when substitute Alvaro Morata headed in a Cesar Azpilicueta cross—a combination that has proven very fruitful for Antonio Conte’s team this season.

Chelsea will now face Manchester United at Wembley on 19th May.

Will an FA Cup win encourage Antonio Conte to stay? Conte has guided Chelsea to their thirteenth FA Cup Final - and offered a chance to atone for last season's defeat at Wembley at the hands of Arsenal. It seems unlikely that the Italian will stay in South London beyond the summer, but another campaign ending in silverware could help heal his divide with the board.

Eden Hazard (Chelsea) Southampton conceded three yellow cards in an attempt to stop the magnificent Belgian in his tracks at Wembley. Hazard was the beating heart of the Chelsea team, who constantly found a way through the compact Southampton midfield, and who later served as a second striker.

Chelsea - Caballero 6, Azpilicueta 8, Cahill 7, Rudiger 7, Moses 7, Kante 7, Fabregas 6, Emerson 6, Willian 7, Giroud 8, Hazard 9. Subs: Bakayoko 6, Pedro 6, Morata 7.

Southampton - McCarthy 6, Cédric 6, Hoedt 7, Yoshida 6, Bednarek 7, Bertrand 5, Romeu 6, Højbjerg 6, Lemina 6, Austin 6, Long 6. Subs: Tadić 6, Redmond 7, Gabbiadini 5.

46 - GOAL! Hazard brings down a Fabregas long ball and puts it into Giroud's path. The Frenchman beats four defenders and slots it in with the outside of his right boot. A fantastic finish!

55 - CHANCE! Austin lets a pass from Bertrand on the right run through his legs straight into Long's path in the box! It's one-on-one but Long's touch is poor and the ball goes out of touch! The Saints might not get a better chance than that!

82 - GOAL! Seconds after coming onto the field, Morata heads an Azpilicueta cross downwards into the net. A great finish!

Alvaro Morata has scored nine headed goals in all competitions this season - two more than any other Premier League player.

Chelsea have beaten Southampton in their last six consecutive meetings. Chelsea have won 12 of their last 15 FA Cup semi-finals.