Chelsea marked yet another visit to Wembley with a victory as the Blues secured their 7^th FA Cup trophy by beating Liverpool 2-1 in a very tight final. Didier Drogba socred an incredible 8^th goal at the national stadium to set Cheslea on their way to victory after Ramires put them ahead early in the 1^st half. Liverpool vastly improved after the break, especially following the arrival of Andy Carroll, who gave the Reds hope with a goal soon after coming on.

The first half was a scrappy affair and but for Ramires’ goal in the 10^th minute was shorn of real quality. The 2^nd period was edgy by contrast as Drogba scored seven minutes after the restart before Carroll drew a goal back in the 64^th minute. The tall striker felt he had equalized later in the half when he got on the end of Suarez’s cross but Cech somehow managed to claw the ball from under the crossbar as Chelsea survived by the skin of their teeth to pick up their first piece of silverware this season.

One of the best matches of the Premier League season took place at the Emirates stadium on Saturday as Arsenal drew 3 - 3 with Norwich City. The game was a tale of two halves with both teams having more than enough opportunities to take control but in the end a draw seemed to be apropos. It was assistant coach Pat Rice's final game in front of the Arsenal faithful and while the former Arsenal defender would have loved to sign off with a victory, the game provided enough thrills to give him some unforgettable memories with the club he has been faithful to for almost half a century.

Arsene Wenger picked an unchanged team from the side he put out at Stoke, looking to out pace and out score Norwich City at the Emirates Stadium. In the absence of the injured Per Mertesacker, Wenger opted for the usual duo of Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny in the middle of defence with Sagna and Gibbs flanking the duo. Welsman Aaron Ramsey and Alex Song continued to be deployed in central midfield with veteran Czech international Tomas Rosicky the creative fulcrum of the side. Robin van Persie was the lone striker up top with Gervinho and Yossi Benayoun flanking him.

Swansea make the long trip from South Wales to Old Trafford for the first time since 1983 as they take on a downcast Manchester United this Sunday evening. The nature of the game will depend on events at the Sports Direct Arena, where Newcastle host Manchester City. United trail their local rivals only by goal-difference following the loss to City on Monday, but with only two games left, they will need City to drop points at Newcastle if they are to head into the final day with the hope of lifting a 20th crown. The Swans could be the ideal opponents for the Red Devils though as they have tailed off in recent weeks, picking up just one win in the last seven and in addition they have never beaten United in their home turf. A solitary goal from Javier Hernandez settled matters when the two teams met at the Liberty Stadium earlier in the season.

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Man United

In the space of three weeks United have uncharacteristically thrown away an eight-point lead at the top of the table to all but drop the trophy that was firmly in their grip. The loss in the Manchester derby on Monday night was a telling blow, especially the nature of the defeat. Sir Alex Ferguson set his side out far too defensively and although they kept the City forwards at bay for the most part, a momentary lapse from a set-piece allowed Vincent Kompany to score on a night when United failed to register a shot on target in a game for the first time since 2009. Sir Alex, rightly, felt that the more damaging result occurred the previous week when they threw away a 3-1 lead against Everton to draw 4-4.

The Premier League title, which was all but handed to Manchester United a few weeks ago, is now within touching distance for Manchester City after they defeated their great rivals in a seismic derby at the Etihad on Monday night. Roberto Mancini's men now need to ensure they do not throw it all away this Sunday when they travel to the North-East to take on high-flying Newcastle United. City lead United by just goal difference at the moment and while there are eight goals between them, City would still need to pick up six points from their remaining two games to clinch the title. They do face a significant obstacle in the form of Newcastle though as the Magpies are fresh from beating Chelsea in mid-week. There is some bad news for the Red Devils supporters hoping for a favour from Newcastle as the Magpies haven't beaten City since 2005 and have in fact lost seven of the last eight meetings.

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Newcastle

Papiss Demba Cisse, the name still echoes around Stamford Bridge after the Senegalese striker scored one of the greatest goals in the Premier League era on Wednesday night. The 26 year olds incredible brace, which takes him to 13 goals in 12 games, helped Newcastle defeat Chelsea 2-0 and effectively dump the Blues out of the Top Four race. Alan Pardew's side are now level on points with Tottenham in 4th and are only a point behind 3rd placed Arsenal. So, the Champions League dream is still alive after the players bounced back in style from their shock defeat at Wigan.

Chelsea held on in the face of a spirited second half performance from Liverpool to win their first trophy of the season at a packed Wembley stadium. Goals from Ramires and 'guess who' Didier Drogba had put the Blues ahead before Andy Carroll's strike pulled one back for the Reds in the 64th minute. Liverpool pressed hard and had the Chelsea defence on the mat from there on in but couldn't find an equaliser as the Londoners collected their 4th FA Cup trophy in six years. (Full Match Report)

Chelsea:

Peter Cech – 8

Had little to do in the 1st half except for a scrambling save. Made an absolutely world class 'save' to deny Carroll's header in the 81st min. Had a comfortable day overall and held most of the crosses.

The Premier League’s Wednesday programme was all about European qualification as the trio of Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham battled it out for the Champions League spots. The Magpies were looking to bounce back from the thrashing they received at Wigan at the weekend as they travelled to Stamford Bridge to take on 6th placed Chelsea, who at the start of the day were a point and a place behind Alan Pardew’s men. Spurs started the night in 4^th spot, level on points with Newcastle and faced a tricky tie at the Reebok, where Bolton were much more concerned about Premier League survival. The Trotters would have jumped out of the relegation zone if they had avoided defeat. Arsenal fans would have also be glued to their TV sets watching the events unfold with deep interest as their closest competitors were all on show.

The Chelsea - Newcastle game will be remembered as the day Papiss Demba Cisse announced himself on the big stage. The Senegalese striker, who had been bullying the weaker sides in the league for 4 months now since his January move to the Toon, scored two terrific goals, the second beyond anything most football fans would have ever seen. Chelsea had no response to Cisse, and went down 2-0 at home, thereby ending any realistic chance they might have had of finishing in the top 4. Tottenham meanwhile needed to win to keep their noses ahead of Newcastle, and did so in some style, thumping Bolton 4-1 at the Reebok with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring a brace. The results mean that the fight for Champions League spots is well and truly on with Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle now just separated by a solitary point while Tottenham also improved their goal difference to just 1 below their neighbourhood rivals. Newcastle meanwhile are a fair bit back and will probably need to spring a major surprise against league leaders Manchester City at the weekend if they are to stay in contention. Chelsea meanwhile can now focus all their energies on their two Cup finals, and will know that they will probably now need to win in Munich to ensure they play Champions League football next season.