Werder Bremen have sacked coach Florian Kohfeldt and appointed Thomas Schaaf as they bid to avoid the Bundesliga relegation play-off for a second straight season.

Kohfeldt was relieved of his duties following Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Augsburg, Werder's eighth in nine league games.

Having taken one point from a possible 27, Werder are in the relegation play-off spot, a point adrift of Arminia Bielefeld and one ahead of Cologne, meaning they can still be automatically relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.

Kohfeldt helped Werder avoid the drop last season as they narrowly came through a play-off with Heidenheim.

But he will not have the chance to secure safety this time around, with Werder installing legendary coach Schaaf for the final game of the season against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Schaaf's first spell as coach lasted from 1999 to 2013 and saw him lead Werder to a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2003-04. 

He won six trophies in that stint and also guided Werder to the UEFA Cup final in 2009.

"Unfortunately after the game in Augsburg, we were no longer convinced that we would be able to stay up with Florian Kohfeldt," said sporting director Frank Baumann.

"We are happy that Thomas is taking on this task in such a precarious situation for the club.

"We hope that he can bring his experience to the table and get the players ready for the last game of the season."

New UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira told Conor McGregor "I'm going to put you on your a**", but warned the former two-weight king he needs to focus on a rematch with Dustin Poirier first.

Oliveira made a narrow escape in the first round against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 on Saturday before dropping his opponent with the first punch of the second to claim the title vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Afterwards, McGregor congratulated Oliveira on Twitter, while hinting at a potential fight with the Brazilian.

He wrote: "Congrats to Oliveira on becoming the 11th UFC lightweight champion. Wonder who Twelve is..."

And Oliveira is clearly keen to face the Irishman on home soil but only if McGregor avenges his defeat to Poirier in January.

"Conor, worry about Dustin," Oliveira told reporters.

"Conor, since you're so tough: First of all, you beat Dustin, and then you come over to Brazil and I'm going to put you on your a**.

"First, he's got to get past Dustin. He's one of these guys that just talks a lot. He's got to beat Dustin first."

Giannis Antetokounmpo insists the Milwaukee Bucks are "in a good place" ahead of the NBA playoffs despite being likely to miss out on the second seed.

The Bucks won 122-108 over the Miami Heat on Saturday to stay in contention for the second seeding in the Eastern Conference.

However, the scenario is tough for Milwaukee, who need to beat the Chicago Bulls on Sunday and hope the Brooklyn Nets lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers to move into second.

"We've got to keep getting better," Antetokounmpo said post-game.

"We've got to keep learning from each game. We're in a good place. The guys are having fun, guys are playing great. We're playing with an edge."

Forward Khris Middleton and reserve Bryn Forbes led the scoring for the Bucks against the Heat with 21 points each, while Jrue Holiday had 20 points, five rebounds and 10 assists.

Antetokounmpo scored 15 points and had nine rebounds and he felt another good offensive and defensive display held them in good stead for the playoffs irrespective of seeding.

"It's all about effort and defending," the Greek forward said.

"When the game started we were focused. We know it's going to be a physical game.

"We've been scoring a lot lately. We moved the ball, we found the open man and took the open shot.

"As long as we guard defensively and are able to rebound, we're in a good place."

The Los Angeles Dodgers will have to play without Corey Seager for a while after the World Series MVP suffered a broken right hand on Saturday. 

Seager took a Ross Detwiler pitch off the hand in the fifth inning of a 7-0 Dodgers victory over the Miami Marlins and immediately left the game. 

Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told reporters afterward that Seager was still in pain, and X-rays soon revealed the fracture. 

Seager, 27, is a two-time All-Star who was named MVP of the National League Championship Series and the World Series last year as the Dodgers won the title. 

He is hitting .265 with a .783 OPS and has four home runs in 37 games this season. 

Los Angeles have been beset by injuries, mostly to their pitchers, but outfielder AJ Pollock went on the 10-day injured list earlier Saturday with a hamstring problem. 

The front office moved quickly to counter that loss by acquiring the versatile Yoshi Tsutsugo from the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Dodgers also reportedly plan to sign Albert Pujols. 

Those additions will not solve the problem of how to compensate for Seager's loss, though. 

Gavin Lux moved over from second base to replace Seager at shortstop Saturday and would appear to be the Dodgers' first choice to start there in the interim. 

Despite their injury woes, the reigning World Series champions are 22-17, the fourth-best record in the National League, as they fight it out with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres in the NL West. 

Charles Oliveira made a narrow escape from the first round against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 before ending things in a hurry in the second. 

Oliveira (31-8) dropped Chandler with his first punch after the break and won by TKO 19 seconds into the second round to claim the UFC lightweight title in Houston. 

In his 28th UFC fight, the Brazilian earned his first strap, a belt left vacant when the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov decided to retire. 

Chandler (22-6) had won the first round 10-8 on two judges' scorecards and 10-9 on the other, but he could not put Oliveira away. 

Once the 31-year-old had a chance to compose himself, he showed his class with a single shot. 

It was Oliveira's 17th career finish, moving him past Donald Cerrone for the most in UFC history. 

In the co-headlining bout, Beneil Dariush dominated Tony Ferguson to win unanimous decision.

The defeat was the third in a row for Ferguson (25-5), the former UFC lightweight interim champion, who previously lost by unanimous decision to Oliveira at UFC 256 in December. 

The Iran-born Dariush (21-4-1) said his seventh consecutive win should put him in the conversation in the lightweight ranks, but he plans to take the next several months off as his daughter is due to be born in June. 

Also on the card, Rogerio Bontorin defeated Matt Schnell and Katlyn Chookagian beat Viviane Araujo, both by unanimous decision, while Edson Barboza knocked out Shane Burgos at 1:16 in the third round. 

For the second time in as many UFC events, an undercard fight ended with an apparent broken limb. 

Brazilian veteran Jacare seemed to break his arm in losing by technical submission to Andre Muniz at 3:59 in Round 1. It was the first loss by submission for the 41-year-old Jacare (26-10).

At UFC 261 a fortnight earlier, Chris Weidman broke his leg landing a kick on Uriah Hall. 

The San Diego Padres jumped on the St Louis Cardinals early on Saturday and never let up, hitting home runs in each of the first three innings on the way to a 13-3 rout. 

Despite top slugger Fernando Tatis Jr's absence due to a positive COVID-19 test, the Padres pounded three-time All-Star Adam Wainwright for those six early runs, then piled on the St Louis bullpen. 

Austin Nola drove in a career-high six runs, including a three-run homer off Wainwright in the third inning. Tommy Pham and Kim Ha-seong also homered for San Diego.

Things got so bad for St Louis that veteran infielder Matt Carpenter came on to pitch in the seventh inning, then remained in the game to work the eighth. He surrendered two hits to the six batters he faced but did not allow any more runs. 

The Padres and Cardinals entered Saturday with two of the three best records in the National League, but St Louis will need to bounce back Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. 

 

Dodgers' Bauer dominates Marlins

Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer was spectacular for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 7-0 win over the Miami Marlins.

Bauer allowed just two hits in seven shutout innings while striking out 10 Miami batters to lower his ERA to 2.20. All of Bauer's strikeouts came in the first four innings.

There was one concerning note for the Dodgers in victory, though, as Corey Seager left the game in the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch in the right hand. 

The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 thanks in part to a two-run homer by Aaron Judge. It was Judge's 23rd career home run against the Orioles, his most against any team.

Ian Anderson limited the Milwaukee Brewers to two hits in his six innings of work as the Atlanta Braves cruised to a 5-1 victory.  

Eduardo Escobar hit a pair of homers and drove in seven runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Washington Nationals 11-4. 

Harold Castro's 10th-inning single lifted the Tigers past the Chicago Cubs 9-8 for Detroit's fifth win in six games. 

 

Phillies' stars fall in loss

The Philadelphia Phillies' two best hitters left a 4-0 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays with injuries, adding longer-term concern to Saturday's setback. Bryce Harper departed in the fourth inning with what the team called right shoulder soreness, and J.T. Realmuto followed in the eighth with a left wrist problem. Manager Joe Girardi told reporters both players are day-to-day. 

 

Bogaerts clears the Monster

Xander Bogaerts launched a rocket over the Green Monster in Boston, with his 446-foot home run helping the Red Sox to a 9-0 rout of the Los Angeles Angels.

 

Saturday's results

Detroit Tigers 9-8 Chicago Cubs
Boston Red Sox 9-0 Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins 5-4 Oakland Athletics
Tampa Bay Rays 12-5 New York Mets
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6 San Francisco Giants
New York Yankees 8-2 Baltimore Orioles
Houston Astros 6-5 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 5-1 Chicago White Sox
Atlanta Braves 5-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 Philadelphia Phillies
Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks 11-4 Washington Nationals
San Diego Padres 13-3 St Louis Cardinals
Seattle Mariners 7-3 Cleveland Indians
Los Angeles Dodgers 7-0 Miami Marlins

 

Mets at Rays

Marcus Stroman (3-3, 2.01 ERA) will try to prevent the Tampa Bay Rays (22-19) from sweeping the New York Mets (18-15) at Tropicana Field. Josh Fleming (2-3, 2.73) gets the start for the Rays. 

Andy Murray will miss the French Open to give himself the best possible chance of being match-ready for Queen's Club and Wimbledon.

The decision was reached on Saturday – Murray's 34th birthday – as the three-time grand slam winner attempts to banish the lingering effects of a recent groin injury.

Murray will work on his fitness and his game in London over the coming weeks, preparing for an emotional return to action in front of a British crowd.

The grass-court season was cancelled in the UK last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Troubled by fitness issues, Murray has not played singles at Wimbledon since 2017, although in 2019 he entered men's doubles and mixed doubles, partnering Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Serena Williams in those events.

Murray travelled to Rome last week, initially with the sole purpose of practising against leading tour players at the Internazionali d'Italia, and he had a session with long-time rival and current world number one Novak Djokovic, playing a set.

The Scot and fellow Briton Liam Broady were then accepted into the doubles, winning a round before bowing out.

It was expected that Murray would play singles either in Geneva or Lyon in the coming week; however, word emerged that he had abandoned that plan as he reportedly turned down a wildcard to the Swiss tournament.

Now it can be confirmed that Murray will not head to Paris for the French Open either, choosing to focus his energy on the grass-court season.

Although Murray achieved success on clay at the height of his career, winning Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Rome and reaching the 2016 French Open final, he has greater pedigree on grass, as his five Queen's Club titles and two Wimbledon triumphs have demonstrated.

Skipping the remainder of the clay-court season means Murray can focus on getting himself in the best possible shape for those events in London.

Murray underwent hip resurfacing surgery in January 2019 in a bid to give himself more years on tour. He lost in the second round of the US Open last year before being thrashed by Stan Wawrinka in round one of the French Open.

He was disappointed to miss the Australian Open at the beginning of this year after testing positive for COVID-19.

Andrea Pirlo claimed Cristiano Ronaldo was happy to be substituted with 20 minutes remaining of Juventus' pulsating 3-2 win over champions Inter in the Derby d'Italia on Saturday. 

The Portuguese superstar – who slotted home the opener after his penalty was saved – was withdrawn for Alvaro Morata with the Bianconeri leading 2-1 after Juan Cuadrado had restored the hosts' lead following Romelu Lukaku's leveller from the spot. 

Rodrigo Bentancur was dismissed for the hosts after just 55 minutes for picking up two yellow cards and intense Inter pressure finally told seven minutes from full-time when Giorgio Chiellini bundled into his own net. 

There was to be one final twist, though, as Cuadrado powered home from the spot in the 88th minute after he had been brought down inside the area by Ivan Perisic. 

The result moved Juve into the top four, although they could be usurped ahead of next weekend's final matchday if Napoli overcome Fiorentina on Sunday.

It was just the third time Ronaldo has been substituted this season, but Pirlo was adamant his talisman took the withdrawal well. 

"I think it was the first time he was happy to be subbed off," he told Sky Sport Italia. "We were one man down, and he'd have been chasing shadows. He was happy and smiling in the dressing room."

It has been a dismal first season in charge for Pirlo, with a Champions League last-16 exit followed by a tepid surrender of their nine-year stranglehold on the Serie A crown to Inter.

It remains to be seen whether he will still in charge for the 2021-22 campaign but, if he stays, Pirlo wants to see more of the spirit shown in the win over Antonio Conte's side next term. 

"We should have had the same determination and desire to fight on every ball also in the other games of the season," he added.

"If we had done so, we would not be fighting for a top-four finish at this point. We made too many mistakes in games that seemed easy on paper.

"We've asked ourselves many times what we've lacked this season. We didn't have the same fire burning inside. We had to turn the light on again to fight the title and a top-four finish. The lads have proved they are up to the task in big games.

"This group has a lot to give, we have many young players, but playing for Juventus means having more responsibility. It takes time to adapt.

"We shouldn't have dropped so many points, but this is a good team, we have room for improvement, there is a good base to work well."

Juve finish their campaign with a trip to Bologna next week.

Thomas Tuchel claimed Chelsea were unlucky in their 1-0 FA Cup final defeat to Leicester City at Wembley.

Youri Tielemans' stunning 25-yard strike just after the hour proved the difference in a tight contest.

A VAR intervention denied Chelsea a late equaliser, with Ben Chilwell shown to be fractionally offside before his shot ricocheted into the net off Wes Morgan.

Tuchel felt some of Chelsea's play was too "hectic" during a scrappy first half, but he did not have many words of pointed criticism for a team who will get another shot at silverware in the Champions League final against Manchester City in two weeks' time.

"Of course we're disappointed, but we're not angry with our performance or our boys," Tuchel said at a post-match news conference.

"I think this performance is enough to win the game. We were simply unlucky.

"We've never hidden the fact that you need luck in this game to win at this level. In some moments you need little details, some decisions, referee's decision-making, sometimes a shot like today.

"I think we defended very, very well. We were very aggressive in counter-pressing, we defended very high up the pitch. We did not allow any counter chances for one of the most dangerous counter-attacking teams in Europe.

"We did not allow any half-chances, any chances. I was absolutely happy with the work rate and intensity."

Chelsea have been on a sharp upwards trajectory since Tuchel succeeded Frank Lampard in January, but this was their second dispiriting 1-0 defeat in a week after going down to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

That loss left their top-four hopes in the balance and a rematch with Leicester on home turf on Tuesday in the Premier League means there is no time to dwell on Wembley disappointment.

"We will talk about what we did good and what we can do better to be ready for Tuesday," Tuchel said.

"This is it in sports. There is no team that never loses, no player or no single sports guy. It is about bouncing back, showing mentality and belief again.

"We missed out on a trophy and are very sad about it. But we have another competition with two finals against Leicester and Aston Villa [in the Premier League], then another final [in the Champions League].

"We have enough to do. We cannot regret too long."

Reece James' wayward pass that led to Tielemans' winner struck Leicester's Ayoze Perez on the thigh and bounced up to hit his arm, but Chelsea cries for handball were waved away by referee Michael Oliver – in line with the present guidance.

"I didn't see it, the players said straight away that it was handball," Tuchel added.

"But I'm not an expert on handball anymore. I don't know when it's hands or when it's not.

"You need a bit of luck in these decisions. I cannot comment and give my opinion, but my opinion is not relevant anyway because I don't know anymore when they need to punish it or when they can play with the hand."

French Open champion Iga Swiatek beat Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff on a hectic Saturday to set up a clash with Karolina Pliskova in the Internazionali d'Italia final.

The Polish teenager began her day with a 6-2 7-5 morning victory over fifth seed Svitolina, twice a winner of this tournament in Rome.

It was a match that was carried over from Friday's schedule after rain interrupted play, and Swiatek delivered a convincing performance.

That set up the semi-final clash with Gauff, the 17-year-old American who was competing at this stage of a WTA 1000 event for the first time, having been gifted her last-four place when Ash Barty abandoned their quarter-final match due to injury on Friday.

There was no sign of fatigue from Swiatek as the 19-year-old powered to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory in a battle of the leading teenage stars of the women's game, who faced each for the first time in what could be a long rivalry.

Swiatek said: "I felt really good today. It's a big difference between my previous matches and today. I was able to beat Elina, so that shows that my game is here, I'm ready for anyone. It gave me a real confidence boost."

Quoted on the WTA website, the 15th seed added: "It's always hard to play against a young superstar, especially when I'm not used to that because I was always the youngest one.

"I just tried to have a high level of energy, even though it was my second match."

Between her two matches, Swiatek would have learned it was Pliskova waiting in the final, as the Czech ninth seed defeated Croatian Petra Martic 6-1 3-6 6-2 to keep up her remarkable record in the Italian capital.

Pliskova won the Rome title in 2019 and was runner-up to Simona Halep last year, but the 29-year-old former world number one has not been to a final since this event unusually took place in September of last year, having been delayed due to the pandemic.

Swiatek won as a major outsider at Roland Garros in October, defying her world ranking which at the time was a lowly 54th, and will face, in Pliskova, a player who has yet to win a grand slam title, a glaring absence amid an otherwise stellar career.

Against Gauff, Swiatek made 25 winners and just 16 unforced errors, a healthy ratio, and took three of her four break-point opportunities.

She sealed victory on a third match point, a big backhand forcing a stretching Gauff to chip beyond the baseline.

Gauff hit seven aces but also five double faults and had 33 winners and 32 unforced errors in the contest.

Novak Djokovic dug deep in the face of fierce Roman resistance to set up a showdown with Rafael Nadal in the men's final at the Internazionali d'Italia.

World number one Djokovic came from a set down overnight to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6 7-5 7-5 early on Saturday, before returning to the court to face Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the evening.

The Rome crowd raucously rallied behind Sonego, who beat Andrey Rublev earlier in the day, and the 26-year-old rose to the challenge but eventually fell to a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 defeat.

Djokovic had match points before serving for it at 6-5 in the second set, yet it was to prove a stirring game as the noisy home crowd encouraged Sonego, who snatched a gutsy break. The tie-break looked set to be wholly one-sided when Djokovic raced 3-0 ahead, but it was soon back on serve, partisan spectators at the Foro Italico roaring in delight at a double fault from the Serbian.

From 4-2 behind, Sonego surged to 6-4 ahead in the tie-break. He failed to convert a first set point when ripping a forehand into the net, but the set was his when Djokovic sent a backhand service return long.

Sonego then had 0-40 against the Djokovic serve at the start of the decider, but he could not force the break, and the top seed gained strength from that escape, eventually cruising to victory.

Five-time Rome champion Djokovic said on Amazon Prime: "I bounced back very well after the second set. Maybe if he started with a break up in the third, things would look differently. I also had my chances and I only had myself to blame for not closing the match in straight sets.

"But he's a quality player, very dynamic, it's not easy to play against him and obviously he had the crowd behind him. It was an electric atmosphere. In the end I managed to close out the match really well."

Looking ahead to tackling Nadal, Djokovic said: "I need to recover. Hopefully I'll have fresh legs because that's what I definitely will need and it's necessary to have a chance against Rafa. He also had some tough matches [this week] and hopefully I'll be fresh and I'll give it all."

While Djokovic and Sonego thrashed away into the night, nine-time champion Nadal had no such workload issues on Saturday.

Nadal beat Alexander Zverev on Friday to set up a semi-final against American Reilly Opelka, and the Spaniard snatched a 6-4 6-4 win from that contest to reach the title match.

Brendan Rodgers hailed Youri Tielemans' instant FA Cup classic after the midfielder spectacularly gave Leicester glory with a 1-0 final win over Chelsea at Wembley.

The Belgium international took aim from 25 yards in the 63rd minute to spark bedlam among the Leicester supporters in a 21,000 crowd at England's national stadium – the largest attendance for a sporting event in the UK since the coronavirus lockdown last March.

Leicester needed heroics from goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and VAR spared another of the favourites from their Premier League success five years ago.

Substitute Wes Morgan turned a ricocheted shot from Ben Chilwell into his own net to apparently herald extra time, but replays showed the ex-Leicester left-back was offside.

Delirious celebrations, with fans and players as one, greeted the full-time whistle and Tielemens was deservedly named man of the match

"Youri's goal was like an old school FA Cup-winning goal but also Kasper Schmeichel's save, those are the special moments you need in games," Rodgers told BBC Sport.

"Overall I thought we were the better team, we pressed the game really well, super-aggressive tactically. We were always a threat with the ball.

"Chelsea are an amazing team, that's why they're in a Champions League final but I thought we deserved it."

As was the case when Schmeichel, Morgan, Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton starred in Leicester's 2015-16 Premier League title win, this was a maiden triumph in the FA Cup.

"It's an amazing feeling, I wasn't aware before I came to Leicester that they'd never won the FA Cup, they'd lost in four finals previously," said the former Liverpool boss.

"So, to be able to give that to the supporters and the owners, so special.

"I'm so proud. It's a real collective effort at Leicester City - the board, the players, staff, supporters, an amazing day for the city. I'm just so proud for everyone."

Rodgers added: "I've been lucky enough to be in six finals [with Celtic] before and lucky enough to win them. Today being the seventh was truly special.

"It's the FA Cup and as a British coach it means so much to us. I'm so proud, but happier for everyone else."

Kasper Schmeichel lauded Leicester City's "undescribable" FA Cup final triumph as a 1-0 win over Chelsea gave them the trophy for the first time.

Youri Tielemans hit the only goal in the rain at Wembley on Saturday, allowing the Foxes to celebrate with their returning fans under the arch.

That was Leicester's only shot on target, though, and the rest of the drama was reserved for the opposite end of the pitch in the closing stages.

A Wes Morgan own goal was ruled out by the VAR as Ben Chilwell strayed offside, but Schmeichel had twice brilliantly denied Chelsea before that incident.

The Leicester goalkeeper made only three saves yet crucially lunged after a downward Chilwell header and then denied Mason Mount.

Schmeichel became the first keeper since Arsenal's David Seaman in 2003 to captain a side to an FA Cup win, Leicester's first at the fifth time of asking.

"Amazing, undescribable," he told BBC Sport of the victory. "It's what dreams are made of. I've dreamt of this since I was a child.

"We've talked about wanting to win trophies, and the performance today... the determination. I'm so, so proud of everybody.

"Everybody's contributed. To get to the final, everybody's played, everybody's been sensational, all the team behind the team, the medical staff, everybody, all amazing.

"That's why when you work together, you do things properly, you have an eternal belief, that's what you can achieve."

Schmeichel dedicated the win to late Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash following a match in 2018.

"It's exactly that. None of you will be able to see – on the inside of our shirts, we have a picture of him, so he's always with us, Khun Vichai," he said.

"And obviously, for Top [Vichai's son Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha], this is what we dreamt of, this is what we talked about for so many years.

"Today, for the fans, look at it, it's amazing."

This was Leicester's first FA Cup win over Chelsea in 10 attempts, but they must now quickly rally and defeat the same opposition again in the Premier League on Tuesday.

A win in that match would secure Leicester's place in the Champions League for next season, potentially at Chelsea's expense.

"Today is a great day and we'll enjoy it thoroughly, but we play them again on Tuesday in a massive game again," Schmeichel added.

"Today we enjoy it, tomorrow we have to dust ourselves down and can't really think about it again. They're a top class side, they're going to want revenge."

Schmeichel was part of the Foxes team that remarkably won the Premier League in 2015-16, but fellow final hero Tielemans, who created two chances and supplied two tackles as well as scoring, was a subsequent signing.

The Belgium international said: "I think the start was when they won the league. That was when something special started.

"We are just building that up. Hopefully we can continue. We have a very important game on Tuesday. If we win, we are hopefully in the Champions League.

"We just have to go again. Now we will enjoy and celebrate, but we will think about Tuesday later on."

The most notable element of a disjointed goalless first half in Saturday's FA Cup final was the organic soundtrack.

At the Leicester end of the 21,000-strong crowd, there was a throaty collective roar when Kasper Schmeichel completed a routine catch from a right-wing corner. Referee Michael Oliver had plenty of unflattering appraisals of his work and a wildly off-target drive from Chelsea forward Timo Werner drew hearty guffaws.

There aren't really buttons on a fake crowd noise soundboard for any of that stuff.

The most significant crowd any of these footballers had played in front of for 14 months also seemed to have an impact on some adrenaline levels and resulting performances.

Leicester great Gary Lineker, so poignantly emotional after his boyhood club closed out an unforgettable 1-0 win, has enjoyed an enduring post-career link up with Walkers. The Foxes' current main goal threat, Kelechi Iheanacho, played like a punter who'd collected 10 crisp packets and won the chance to try playing at Wembley.

Iheanacho entered the game as the joint top scorer in this season's FA Cup and with 13 goals in his past 12 outings across all competitions. It counted for nothing, the Nigeria international's touch as heavy as his legs, while muddled decision making did nothing to lengthen the short leash Antonio Rudiger kept him on.

Werner draws another blank

Werner would give plenty for some of Iheanacho's prolific form, the type he enjoyed only last season at RB Leipzig. Here, we again witnessed the Chelsea version – tireless probing running to push the opposition defence deep and prescribe Jonny Evans a swift return to the treatment table.

But Werner snatched at his shots, inadvertently touched a goalscoring chance away from captain Cesar Azpilicueta and then saw Wesley Fofana hurl himself into back-to-back blocks. When the ball broke clear, Werner threw himself at Luke Thomas with the same gusto but none of the expertise to be booked.

The occasion was encouraging commitment, anxiety and a dearth of quality, with the notable exception of Mason Mount.

Chelsea's playmaker pirouetting under a high ball to stun a volleyed pass into Azpilicueta's path was easily the most beautiful piece of play before the interval. His shot from the return ball was deflected wide by Fofana, who seemed to take any attempt to test Schmeichel as a personal affront.

 

Azpilicueta found himself forward so often because he featured at wing-back, with the more naturally attacking Reece James on the right of Chelsea's back three.

The Blues began their run to the final with a victory over Morecambe and, to paraphrase the Lancashire town's favourite son, it felt like Thomas Tuchel had selected all the correct right-sided defenders but not necessarily in the right order.

In reality, however, the move came to look inspired, at least defensively as James effectively shackled Jamie Vardy's livewire running.

Youri's glory

The opening stages of the second half, Leicester finally managed to peg their opponents back. James still dealt with everything in immaculate fashion until, well, he didn't.

The 21-year-old botched a routine pass, hitting it at Ayoze Perez. Thomas snaffled the loose ball and Youri Tielemans straightened his run towards the Chelsea box.

Like Evans earlier, Thiago Silva's combination of old head and old legs persuaded him to let his opponent advance towards goal. Unlike Werner, though, Tielemans is a supreme technician at the top of his game.

The Belgium midfielder unleashed an unerring 25-yard firecracker into the top corner. Some thunder to go with the Wembley rain. Behind the goal, bedlam. Limbs. A cup final goal for the ages.

Tuchel decided to act and a pair of double substitutions followed, including former Leicester full-back Ben Chilwell's introduction. His every touch was booed, until he got his head to a cross from N'Golo Kante – the Foxes' 2015-16 title-winning hero, who endured no barracking.

That moment was one for a sharp intake of breath but Schmeichel plunged to his right for a stunning save. His later stop from Mount was even better.

 

Captain Morgan's VAR cocktail

The dying minutes meant time for another of Claudio Ranieri's old stagers as Wes Morgan came on for his first action since December, immediately barking instructions. The band, or what remains of it, were back together.

When he hoisted the Premier League trophy aloft five years ago, Morgan or none of the rest of us lived in the altered reality of VAR. But it saved him here after Chilwell tore off in villainous celebration, his attempt having cannoned in off his old captain after Caglar Soyuncu had tried to hack it clear. The replays showed a tight but obvious offside.

Morgan, Schmeichel and Vardy have a first FA Cup to go with their club's first league title. They are sporting immortals of the east midlands.

The Leicester faithful also have a new trophy-winning hero in Tielemans after his majestic man-of-the-match showing. Following Eden Hazard in 2018 and Kevin De Bruyne in 2019, another Belgium playmaker scored in an FA Cup final victory. A niche and far more palatable new normal.

And that was the best thing about the rash tackles, the blocks, the screamer, the bedlam, the shredded nerves, the drama, the villains and the heroes. The wonderful atmosphere in which it unfolded was all so instantly and beautifully normal.

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