Romelu Lukaku’s 12th goal of the season set Chelsea on their way to the FA Cup semi-finals in serene fashion as the club’s off-field problems were once again put aside.
A comfortable 2-0 sixth-round victory at Championship side Middlesbrough provided a more than satisfactory conclusion to a difficult week, where the Blues’ future ownership and current operational difficulties attracted far more attention than their efforts on the pitch.
Lukaku’s 15th-minute strike and a delicious second from Hakim Ziyech had the tie wrapped up long before half-time as Thomas Tuchel’s men progressed with the minimum of fuss in pursuit of their ninth taste of glory in club football’s oldest competition.
Fewer than 700 Chelsea fans had made it to Teesside as a result of a restriction on ticket sales under sanctions imposed on club owner Roman Abramovich, but it proved a relaxing evening as their side cruised to victory in a repeat of the 1997 final.
Boro, who donated the gate receipts to humanitarian aid in Ukraine, found themselves having to defend deep and in numbers as the visitors, prompted by Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic, passed and moved patiently in their quest for an early breakthrough.
It arrived on 15 minutes when Ziyech found Mason Mount in space down the right and he sent the ball across goal, where defender Dael Fry inexplicably failed to intervene, in the process handing Lukaku the simplest of tasks from point-blank range.
The pace and endeavour of Isaiah Jones and Marcus Tavernier kept the Teessiders in the contest, and with skipper Jonny Howson snapping into tackles in the middle of the field, Tuchel’s side knew they were in a game.
Lukaku had to head Tavernier’s 26th-minute free-kick clear and Folarin Balogun was unable to hit the target when the resulting corner fell to him as the Championship outfit prospered, although Premier League quality was brought to bear in devastating style 14 minutes before the break.
Boro pressed high as Thiago Silva and keeper Edouard Mendy attempted to play out from the back, but Malang Sarr sprang the trap with a pass to Kovacic, who combined with Mount to allow Ziyech to step inside full-back Neil Taylor and fire an unstoppable shot across Joe Lumley and inside the far post.
Lukaku was denied his second of the game by the alert Anfernee Dijksteel after rounding Lumley from Pulisic’s deflected through-ball, but the home side’s cause looked forlorn as they trudged off at the break.
Fry made way for Sol Bamba to popular acclaim before the restart and Balogun might have done better after being set up by Matt Crooks after he had been picked out by Jones five minutes into the second half.
Chris Wilder’s side – who had knocked out Manchester United and Tottenham in the two previous rounds – battled manfully as time ran down, with Jones and substitute Duncan Watmore adding new zest.
But they lacked the cutting edge to trouble a defence marshalled expertly by 37-year-old Silva enough to drag themselves back into the game.
Timo Werner might have added a third but for a block by Bamba and fellow substitute Josh Coburn forced a late save from Mendy at the other end, but the job was done.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Norway
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Canada
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
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yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
