Chelsea's Michael Ballack celebrates after scoring during their FA Cup semi-final soccer match against Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford in Manchester yesterday. Chelsea won 2-1. - ReutersMANCHESTER, England (AP):
Michael Ballack put Chelsea into the FA Cup final by scoring in extra time yesterday and giving his team a 2-1 win over Blackburn.
Ballack scored from the left side after Salomon Kalou's shot was blocked in the 109th minute.
Frank Lampard gave Chelsea the lead at Old Trafford with his 21st goal of the season in the 16th minute, but Jason Roberts equalised for Blackburn in the 64th.
Chelsea will face Manchester United in the FA Cup final on May 19 - the first major match to be played at the new Wembley Stadium since it reopened after more than six years under construction.
The two teams could play each other three times in two weeks.
Share trophies
"We can share trophies between us. We can win nothing and in spite of that Chelsea and Man United are two unbelievable teams," Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho said.
United, which lead the Premier League with 78 points, visit second-place Chelsea on May 9 in the penultimate round of the season in what could be a title-deciding game.
Four days after the FA Cup final, United and Chelsea could meet again in the Champions League final in Athens, Greece. Both English teams have reached the competition's semi-finals, where Chelsea will face Liverpool and United will take on AC Milan.
Chelsea, which have already won the League Cup, are trying to win four major trophies this season.
The Blues took the lead yesterday when Ballack tapped a pass to Lampard. The England midfielder then shrugged off a challenge from Ryan Nelsen and steered the ball past former United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
Roberts equalized for Blackburn by deflecting in a free kick from Morten Gamst Pedersen.
"I think we never give up. We always believe we can make it even in the last seconds and today we did that again," Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech said. "They (Blackburn) made a great effort and in the second half they had a few chances and they deserved to equalize. But we showed the character. We never gave up."
Chelsea last played United in the FA Cup final in 1994, when United won 4-0.
Chelsea have won three FA Cups, the last in 2000, while United won its record 11th title in 2004.
United manager Alex Ferguson watched the match at neutral Old Trafford, which was 25,000 short of its 74,000 capacity.
Keane rallies Spurs for tie
LONDON (AP):
Robbie Keane scored two goals and set up another yesterday in Tottenham's 3-3 draw at Wigan in the Premier League.
Tottenham rallied three times against its relegation-threatened opponents. Keane scored with a penalty in the 35th minute and also collected a goal kick from Paul Robinson and lobbed Wigan goalkeeper John Filan in the 68th.
Everton beat Charlton 2-1 with an injury-time goal from James McFadden. That moved the Toffees up to fifth place, but left the Addicks in the relegation zone.
Wigan striker Emile Heskey scored his third goal in as many games in the second minute, heading in his own rebound after a goalmouth scramble. Tottenham replied immediately with Keane setting up Dimitar Berbatov, who eluded two defenders before scoring his 20th goal of the season in the fourth minute.
Leighton Baines curled a volley into the far corner from the edge of the box in the 30th minute togive Wigan the lead, but again, it did not last long.
Filan brought down Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas just inside the box and referee Graham Poll awarded a penalty kick which Keane converted.
Kevin Kilbane headed in Wigan's third goal in the 60th minute from a corner by Ryan Taylor.
Keane's final goal was a 35-metre (yard) shot that went over the Filan's head and bounced into the empty net.
"The manner in which we conceded our goals is very disappointing," Wigan Manager Paul Jewell said. "We knew we would have to make them work hard for their goals, but we didn't. We made mistakes and got severely punished."
Tottenham now have 49 points and moved up one place to eighth. Wigan increased to 35 points and are now 15th.
"Before the game, we would not have settled for a point, but after it you have to, particularly when you concede two goals from set pieces," Tottenham Manager Martin Jol said.
DOMINATED
Everton dominated Charlton at Goodison Park.
In the first half, Andy Johnson had two chances, Leon Osman curled a shot wide and Lee Carsley sent a volley over the crossbar. Mikel Arteta also had chances on either side of the interval.
The Toffees were finally rewarded in the 81st when Joleon Lescott scored with a volley after a header from Johnson had been pushed away by Charlton goalkeeper Scott Carson.
Darren Bent equalised for Charlton in the 89th, but McFadden scored the winner in injury time.
"I think we deserved it," Everton Manager David Moyes said. "But I've got to say that Charlton have been doing very well lately and we always knew, right up until the end, it would be tight."
Charlton stayed in 18th place with 32 points, ahead of West Ham (29) and Watford (23).
On Saturday, Arsenal ended a four-match winless streak with a 2-1 victory over Bolton and third-place Liverpool drew 0-0 with Manchester City.
Liverpool have 61 points, followed by Arsenal with 59 in the final Champions League spot.
Everton's win moved the club up one place and pushed Bolton into sixth. Both Everton and Bolton have 54 points.
Manchester United, which beat Watford 4-1 to reach the FA Cup final, lead the league with 78 points, three ahead of Chelsea.
Also Saturday, it was: Middlesbrough 1, Aston Villa 3; Portsmouth 2, Newcastle 1; Reading 1, Fulham 0; and Sheffield United 3, West Ham 0.
Top Net FindersEnglish Premier League top scorers after yesterday's matches:
18 - Didier Drogba (Chelsea); 16 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United); 13 - Benny McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers); 12 - Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Middlesbrough); 11 - Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic), Andy Johnson (Everton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Obafemi Martins (Newcastle United), Nicolas Anelka (Bolton Wanderers); 10 - Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Kevin Doyle (Reading), Bobby Zamora (West Ham United); 9 - Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Brian McBride (Fulham), Emile Heskey (Wigan Athletic).
| TEAM | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | P
(Reuters):
(Reuters): English Premier League standings yesterday. Man U | 32 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 75 | 23 | 78 |
| Chelsea | 32 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 56 | 19 | 75 |
| Liverpool | 33 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 50 | 22 | 61 |
| Arsenal | 33 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 54 | 30 | 59 |
| Everton | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 46 | 30 | 54 |
| Bolton | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 41 | 42 | 54 |
| P'mouth | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 43 | 38 | 49 |
| Tottenham | 33 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 47 | 48 | 49 |
| Reading | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 45 | 41 | 48 |
| Aston Villa | 34 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 36 | 39 | 42 |
| Newcastle | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 43 | 41 |
| Man City | 33 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 26 | 35 | 41 |
| Blackburn | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 38 | 47 | 40 |
| M'brough | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 37 | 42 | 39 |
| Wigan | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 35 | 52 | 35 |
| Fulham | 34 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 53 | 35 |
| Sheffield | 33 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 29 | 47 | 34 |
| Charlton | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 30 | 51 | 32 |
| West Ham | 33 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 26 | 54 | 29 |
| Watford | 33 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 24 | 53 | 23 |
1-2: Champions League / EC I 3-4: Champions League preliminary round 5: UEFA Cup 6-7: UEFA Cup depending on domestic cup 18-20: Relegation
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