EPL BEST WEEKEND FOR CHELSEA

Tottenham 1 Chelsea 5: Blues take advantage of officials' blunder to run riot

Chelsea set up an FA Cup final against Liverpool after putting Tottenham to the sword with a ruthless beating at Wembley, but they were helped on their way by a goal which should never have been given.

Juan Mata put the Blues two up after the break in hugely controversial circumstances with referee Martin Atkinson awarding the goal despite replays showing the Spaniard's shot did not cross the line.

But that slice of luck could not detract from Chelsea's superiority.

We're going to Wembley, again: Chelsea thrashed Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final....

... but Chelsea's second goal was given despite the ball not crossing the lin

Didier Drogba scored his seventh goal at Wembley to put the Blues ahead and, even though an incensed Spurs pulled one back straight after Mata's second through Gareth Bale, a cool finish from Ramires, a blistering 30-yard free-kick from Frank Lampard, and a late fifth from Florent Malouda wrapped up a huge win for the west London club and piled yet more misery on Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

Many saw this evening's game as an audition for Redknapp at the home of English football, but his team were nowhere near clinical enough and Roberto Di Matteo's deserved the win.

Chelsea, now through to their 11th FA Cup final, raised their game to play like a team used to gracing the Wembley turf while Redknapp's team were wasteful and nervous.

Tottenham, who went in to this game with one win in their last eight league matches, will have no trophy to show for a season that started with so much hope but threatens to end with a big whimper.

Chelsea thoroughly deserved their win and will now go into Wednesday's game against Barcelona rightly full of confidence.

There was no indication this game would end up being a goal-fest during a nervy opening quarter in north London.

Opener: Didier Drogba fires Chelsea in front against Tottenham at Wembley

Drogba bustled his way past William Gallas to get on the end of a long punt from the back but he horribly mis-hit a volley and Cudicini gathered.

The Chelsea defence then backed off and allowed Scott Parker in, but Lampard put in a crucial block.

Pick it out: Drogba (left) is congratulated by his team-mates after putting Chelsea in front

Careless defending from Kyle Walker then almost gifted Chelsea the lead. He dallied on the ball and Salomon Kalou took advantage, galloping 40 yards towards goal before finding Mata, but his touch let him down.

The Spurs fans thought their team had the breakthrough nine minutes before half-time when Rafael van der Vaart beat Petr Cech, but John Terry cleared off the line.

The goal that never was: Juan Mata (right) is awarded a goal despite the ball not crossing the line

Emmanuel Adebayor then missed an easy chance. The former Arsenal striker slipped his marker to get in the path of Van der Vaart's looping cross but he failed to connect and the ball struck a post before bouncing to safety.

Tottenham were instantly made to pay for the mistake as Drogba fired Chelsea ahead in the 43rd minute.

Come on ref! Scott Parker leads the Tottenham protest after Martin Atkinson awarded the Chelsea goal

The former Marseille man picked up Lampard's long ball and turned Gallas easily before firing a fierce rising shot past Carlo Cudicini.

Chelsea's second came in the 48th minute, but only in very controversial circumstances.

Superman: Emmanuel Adebayor is sent flying by Carlo Cudicini as Gareth Bale (right) prepares to score

Ledley King's clearance from David Luiz's header fell in to the path of Mata, whose shot hit King on the line and Benoit Assou-Ekotto then cleared while laying on the turf.

The ball had not crossed the line, but referee Atkinson blew his whistle and awarded the goal, much to the fury of the Spurs players and supporters.

Back in it: Bale slots the ball into the empty net to haul Tottenham back into the game

Van der Vaart led the vocal protests, shouting at the referee, while another group of Spurs players surrounded assistant Mick McDonough complaining at the decision.

Atkinson waved away their protests, however, and the goal stood.

Blow: David Luiz is stretchered off after suffering an injury against Tottenham

Tottenham got themselves back in to the game six minutes later.

Scott Parker's brilliant slide-rule pass sent Adebayor free, he was sent tumbling by Petr Cech and Luiz, but the referee played advantage, allowing Bale to tap in to an empty goal from five yards.

Back on track: Ramires clips the ball beyond Cudicini (above) before celebrating his goal (below)

Luiz was hurt in the challenge and was carried off on a stretcher to be replaced by Gary Cahill.

Chelsea almost restored their two-goal cushion on the hour mark when Terry climbed to meet Lampard's corner but Assou-Ekotto cleared off the line.

Game over: Frank Lampard curls the ball home for Chelsea's fourth goal as they sea their final spot

King headed just wide from Van der Vaart's corner as Spurs looked desperately for an equaliser in the final 20 minutes.

Redknapp looked to Jermain Defoe for inspiration, the England striker replacing Van der Vaart with 15 minutes to go, but the game soon fell to pieces for the men in white.

Five star: Florent Malouda slots the ball home to complete Chelsea's rout over Tottenham

Ramires latched on to Mata's through-ball after being played onside by Walker and he coolly lifted the ball over the advancing Cudicini.

The Tottenham fans fell silent for the first time and they started leaving in their droves with 10 minutes to go thanks to a brilliant 30-yard free-kick from Lampard which dipped and swerved past Cudicini to make it 4-1.

Florent Malouda replaced Ramires and, worryingly for Di Matteo, Drogba hobbled off to be replaced by Fernando Torres.

Handbags: Scott Parker and John Obi Mikel clashed as the semi-final got heated at Wembley

Malouda robbed Gallas and wandered unchallenged in to the box, but his looping shot just missed the goal, and Torres at the back post.

Tottenham's frustration boiled over in injury-time when Parker lashed out at John Obi Mikel after the Nigerian kicked the England captain while he was on the floor. Both were booked.

The humiliation was complete moments later when Malouda got on the end of Mata's pass and slid past Cudicini for Chelsea's fifth.

Young told to watch his step by United boss Ferguson after 'dramatic fall' in win over Villa

Sir Alex Ferguson warned Ashley Young that he is in danger of being branded a diver after the Manchester United winger won his second controversial penalty in the space of a week.

Ferguson described the way Young went down over the outstretched foot of Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark as a 'dramatic fall' and the incident led Newcastle defender Ryan Taylor to call him the 'biggest cheat in the league'.

It followed another hotly-disputed penalty at Old Trafford eight days ago conceded by QPR, who had their captain Shaun Derry sent off for an innocuous challenge on the England winger.

Theatrical: Ashley Young falls under the challenge of Aston Villa's Ciaran Clark to win a penalty

Disbelief: The Aston Villa players react to Mark Halsey awarding a penalty

Asked if he was worried that Young is getting a reputation for going down too easily, Ferguson said: 'In the last week or two, yes. I’ve never seen that in him. It’s not a habitual thing in him. He was brought down, he just made the most of it.

 

It was a dramatic fall. He overdid the fall but it’s a penalty, there’s no doubt about that and I don’t think they can have any complaint because he has taken him.'

'If a player decides to put his foot in and he's definitely taken him down then he's fallen in to that.

'Good defending has always been good defending - if they read the game and keep their feet in they should really cope with that.'

Spot on: Ashley Young celebrates with Wayne Rooney after he scores the penalty

Young has been awarded more penalties than any other Premier League player in the last two seasons.

Taylor immediately took to Twitter, writing: 'Ashley Young is an absolute DISGRACE. He’s the biggest cheat in the league. His antics are a joke....'

It left Villa still in danger of relegation and their manager Alex McLeish with a sense of grievance.

'I didn’t think it was a penalty,' said McLeish. 'It was a very soft decision.'

Having a go: Newcastle's Ryan Taylor hit out at Ashley Young on Twitter

Lift-off: Young earns booking for an apparent dive against Montenegro in a European Championship qualifier at Wembley in 2010

Ferguson urged caution in the title race with four games to go.

He added: ‘My experience tells me that there’s always something that’s going to bit you on the bum so hopefully we can avoid that.

'There could be twists and turns yet but the name of the game is to enjoy ourselves and play with expression like we did today.

'You can never be too confident. The name is the game is to not drop too many points.

'It was a good result for us. In the first half we played some good stuff and the third goal killed the game and we were able to see it out.'

Correct: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says the decision to award Manchester United a penalty was the right one

Even though Rooney scored twice, he was substituted in the 74th minute with Ferguson accusing his striker of being ‘careless’.

He said: ‘Wayne has to play on the edge of a game when it is really close and competitive. When the game gets to that casual bit, he is worse than the rest of them. He gets really casual about it. He was careless.’