Drogba Earns FA Cup Glory For Chelsea

A Didier Drogba goal late in extra time was enough to secure victory for Chelsea over Manchester United in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley.

Drogba produced a rare moment of brilliance in a game that failed to live up to expectations to complete a cup Double for the Blues.

With penalties looming, he played a one-two with Frank Lampard before poking the ball past Edwin van der Sar.

Ryan Giggs missed a good chance to win the game for United in normal time.

The 90,000 fans inside the stadium were treated to a fantastic pre-match build-up featuring some famous faces from Wembley's glorious past.

But aside from Drogba's late winner, the two best sides in the country produced a game that is unlikely to live long in the memory.

That is unlikely to bother Chelsea, who won the last FA Cup final at the old Wembley in 2000.

A cagey opening 20 minutes set the pace for a match that at times seemed more like the Community Shield than the first FA Cup final at an immaculate new stadium.

The first effort on target did not arrive until after the half-hour, with Paulo Ferreira venturing forward and slipping a pass in for Frank Lampard, who forced Van der Sar to make a smart low save.

That was about the extent of the first 45 minutes as both teams looked heavy-legged after a season in which they have each played over 60 games.

The pitch, which looked in fabulous condition at the start, began to cut up and so did not aid the footballing spectacle or the weary players.

Joe Cole looked one of the few players capable of livening things up before he was surprisingly replaced at half-time by Arjen Robben.

The pace picked up slightly after the break, with United looking the more likely to score the new Wembley's first FA Cup final goal.

Wayne Rooney emerged from his first-half shell to bring a first save out of Petr Cech and tested Chelsea's back line with a couple of bursting runs.

Paul Scholes picked out Giggs to volley just over the top as Sir Alex Ferguson's men showed the odd glimpse of the stylish side that dominated the Premiership.

At the other end, Drogba was largely contained by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, with the Premiership's top scorer limited to a curling free-kick that clipped the outside of the post during the 90 minutes.

Vidic could have settled the tie with the last touch of normal time but his glancing header from Giggs' inswinging free-kick was just too high.

Both sides had glorious chances to break the deadlock at the end of the first period of extra time.

Giggs somehow managed to pick out Cech with the goal at his mercy as he slid on to a Rooney cross and then Drogba headed into the side-netting from an equally promising position.

Salomon Kalou was agonisingly close to scoring before Drogba and Lampard exchanged passes and the Golden Boot winner capped a fabulous season with the most important goal of his campaign.

It prevented a third successive FA Cup final going to penalties and provided a memorable moment for the long-awaited return home to London for the competition.

Chelsea add the FA Cup to the League Cup, which they won earlier this season, and manager Jose Mourinho did his job prospects no harm by securing the one domestic trophy that was missing in his collection.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Essien, Terry, Bridge, Mikel, Makelele, Lampard, Wright-Phillips (Kalou 93), Drogba, Joe Cole (Robben 46), Robben (Ashley Cole 108).

Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Diarra.

Booked: Makelele, Ferreira, Ashley Cole, Kalou.

Goals: Drogba 116.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Fletcher (Smith 92), Scholes, Carrick (O'Shea 112), Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs (Solskjaer 112).

Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Evra.

Booked: Scholes, Vidic, Smith.

Att: 89,826.

Ref: S Bennett (Kent).

Match Quotes:

Sir Alex Ferguson: It has been exceptional what my players have been through - we just couldn't cross the line.

Carlos Queiroz: It is a clear penalty, there is no doubt about that.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech: The ball was behind the line, but it would have been a foul anyway.

Manchester United take on Chelsea in the first FA Cup final to be played at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium

English football's showpiece event is back at its spiritual home for the first time since 2000

Fans make their way up Wembley Way as the atmosphere builds ahead of the big game

Both sets of supporters flock to the recently unveiled statue of England's World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore

The sight of a marching band performing on the Wembley turf before the FA Cup final makes a return

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson picks Gabriel Heinze and Darren Fletcher as Patrice Evra and Alan Smith miss out

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho secured the return of his dog in midweek but is without a number of key players for the game

Prince William officially welcomes the FA Cup trophy back to Wembley and declares the new stadium open

The stadium is almost full and a Red Arrows formation performs overhead as kick-off approaches

Chelsea captain John Terry and United skipper Ryan Giggs lead the teams out to a wall of noise from the 90,000 crowd

Chelsea wide-man Shaun Wright-Phillips tries to take on Heinze during a lifeless opening to the match

Rooney fires wide of Blues keeper Petr Cech's left-hand post and a hugely disappointing first half finishes goalless

Mourinho replaces Joe Cole with Dutchman Arjen Robben, who immediately feels the force of a challenge from Wes Brown

Rooney worries Chelsea with a fine run but the United forward is thwarted by Cech and the game goes to extra time

Giggs misses a golden opportunity to score when he scuffs Rooney's low cross into the arms of Cech

Cech again saves at the feet of Rooney and the match looks like being decided by a penalty shoot-out

But Didier Drogba nips in to score a 116th-minute winner to take the trophy to Stamford Bridge

Terry becomes the first captain to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley and Chelsea end a troubled season on a high note

The defeat is a bitter blow for the largely anonymous Cristiano Ronaldo and his United team-mates

But Chelsea's players can celebrate winning another trophy - the club's sixth since Mourinho took over as Blues boss