A Decade-Long Drought: Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0

Demba Ba's half-volley shot proved to be the eventual winner

Image taken from The Daily Mail UK

Chelsea	Manchester United
Cech  Azpilicueta (Y 77')  Ivanovic  Luiz  Cole      (SUB Bertrand 22' (Y 58'))   Mikel   Ramires  Hazard  Mata (Y 89')  Oscar (Y 90')      (SUB Moses 90+1')  Ba (GOAL! 49')      (SUB Torres 90+3')  Unused subs:   Lampard  Terry  Turnbull  Benayoun	De Gea  Jones  Smalling  Ferdinand  Evra  Valencia  Carrick   Cleverley (Y 54')      (SUB van Persie 61')   Nani      (SUB Giggs 65')  Welbeck      (SUB Young 80')  Hernandez  Unused subs:   Lindegaard  Vermijl  Powell  Kagawa

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup in the narrowest of margins, but the scoreline failed to depict the lack of steel the Reds exhibited as they lost to Chelsea in their FA Cup replay, extending the Mancunian giants FA Cup trophy drought to a decade.

The first half-started lethargically, in a fashion unexpected of two top-four teams. Sloppy passes from both passes saw the ball exchange possession swiftly and intermittently. Both sides didn't have much efforts on goal until later in the half, when Hernandez collected the ball from the edge of the box, only for him to decide to switch to his preferred right foot. The time it took would prove costly. 

The Blues, on their part, sparked with a charge from Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard. He crossed the ball towards Ba who tried to sneak it past De Gea, but the Spaniard kicked it away. Cech would respond with a foot save of his own, saving Chicharito's attempt with a bicycle kick on the follow-through.

Chicharito's second-half header from close range was denied by Petr Cech

Image taken from The Daily Mail UK

Second-half saw Rafa Benitez' men switch on grandiosely as early as the 49th minute, when Mata's long pass from the middle of the pitch saw the ball fall in front of Demba Ba, who bashed it in towards the back of the net.

Alex Ferguson tried to revitalise his chances of staying in the FA Cup by bringing in van Persie, Ryan Giggs and Ashley Young, but the Reds just couldn't create a decent chance. Their best attempt came just at the hour mark, when Welbeck's cross from the right was headed in by Chicharito in the same fashion as he did when the two sides last met. Cech made a fine save.

At that point, United succumbed to fatigue and lack of confidence as midfield maestros Mata, Oscar and Hazard trudged over United's shape on the pitch.

In the end, United, the Comeback Kings of lore, just couldn't get that crucial equalizer to stay in the competition. Sir Alex Ferguson will now have to be content with the promise of a 20th League title as the Red Devils go on to their 10th year without an FA Cup trophy.

Dropping the Ball: Manchester United 2 Chelsea 2

Chelsea's no. 7, Ramires, scores the equalizer six minutes after the hour mark

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

STARTING LINEUPS

Manchester United	Chelsea
De Gea  Rafael  Evans  Ferdinand  Evra  Carrick  Cleverley  Nani     (SUB Valencia 46')   Kagawa     (SUB Welbeck 76')  Rooney (GOAL! 10')  Hernandez (GOAL! 4')      (SUB van Persie 61')   Unused subs:  Amos  Anderson  Vidic  Young	Cech    Azpilicueta (Y 39')   Luiz (Y 54')  Cahill  Cole  Ramires (GOAL! 66')  Lampard    (SUB Mikel 51')   Moses    (SUB Hazard 51' (GOAL! 58') (Y 74'))   Mata  Oscar  Ba     (SUB Torres 77')  Unused subs:  Turnbull  Ivanovic  Terry  Bertrand

Manchester United's bid for the FA Cup trophy took a stumble after Sir Alex Ferguson's team squandered a two-goal lead when they dropped the ball and gave Chelsea the upper-hand with the Blues picking up a vital 2-2 draw.

The first half saw a rapid-fire start from both sides, with Ba getting the first chance at a goal. He shot it wide. The Reds countered with Carrick, who made a serene long pass to Hernandez, who headed the ball home, with Cech caught off-guard. Six minutes later, Rooney's free-kick from the edge of the box curled past everybody towards the far corner.

Chicharito's header in the 4th minute gave United the early lead

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

United kept the foot on the gas for the next fifteen minutes with Nani, Chicharito and Cleverley all having chances. But Chelsea steadily crawled in to  hold on the ball and as United lightened on the pedal, the Blues pounced on their opportunities, to no avail. Errors from Rafael and Carrick lead to counter-attacks from Chelsea's Ba, Mata and Lampard. All tried to get a goal back, but all attempts went wide.

The Reds picked up just before half-time, with Nani leading the plays. United's third goal would've to wait as their attempts went nowhere.

Rooney's brilliant free-kick placed United two goals up after just eleven minutes

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

A turn-face happened on the second-half, as Chelsea got their stranglehold on the possession and kept the pressure on United. Mata proved to be mercurial late on as he made fabulous plays to help his teammates get shots on goal. United completely lost their momentum in the first half, reminiscent of their game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season at the League.

Early in the second-half, Chelsea had the possession but not the goals. Interim manager Rafa Benitez made a seemingly controversial change when he took out Lampard and replaced him with Mikel to compound his other substitution, Hazard on for Moses. But it turned out to be the correct decision as Hazard made a blistering run at the break and slotted the ball home. Fifteen minutes later, Ramires pounced to level the scores between the two teams.

David Luiz celebrate with Eden Hazard for the latter's goal at the 58th minute

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

With Sir Alex Ferguson's men rattled, Chelsea knew they had to look for the killshot. Torres was brought on to help bolster the Blues' attack. The Spaniard did get a shot on target, but it was comfortably saved by De Gea. A last gasp came from Juan Mata at the 89th minute, who pounced from a mess-up inside the United box. The shot went begging.

In the end, both teams had to settle for a draw and wait for the replay match, which will be squeezed in a very tight schedule for both teams. Sir Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, will find himself very frustrated as he watched his team lose their grip on a game that was supposed to have been won. With United travelling to Stamford Bridge for the replay, a defeat may be in the cards, and that would lead to a decade of not winning the FA Cup that will surely bring much ire to the United manager.

At The Death: West Ham 2 Manchester United 2

Robin van Persie scores the dramatic equalizer at the death

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

Starting Lineups (Courtesy of Soccerway.com)

Goals of the Game

West Ham: Collins (27', 58')

Manchester United: Cleverley (23'), van Persie (90')

Sir Alex Ferguson's side scraped off a drama-filled draw to keep their FA Cup race alive against West Ham United after a moment of brilliance from Ryan Giggs helped Robin van Persie smashed in the equalizing goal at the death.

Manchester United kicked off the first half with an irongrip control on possession, with Paul Scholes dictating the pace for his team. Chances from Welbeck, Hernandez and Smalling almost gave United the lead. West Ham responded with chances of their own. The Hammers' Alou Diarra and Ricardo Vaz Te had their attempts on goal. The game would pick up to the Reds' favor when a counterattack opened Hernandez and Welbeck. The Mexican opted to make a deceitful cross towards the unmarked Tom Cleverley who smashed the ball in from the edge of the box. Sam Allardyce's men responded four minutes later. New signing Joe Cole made a brilliant cross towards James Collins, who only needed to nudge the ball in for the equalizer.

Tom Cleverley opens the scoring with a brilliant goal

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

West Ham's James Collins pulls one back for his side

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

West Ham started the second-half off with urgency as they quickly linked up with their forwards, but the chance went wide. United also had chances from Welbeck and Kagawa, to no avail. West Ham, however, took the lead at the 58th minute. Joe Cole, the man the Hammers bought from Liverpool, made another stunning cross to James Collins, who headed the ball home for the second time in the night. West Ham would then take a tyrannical control of the possession, with the Reds having no chances whatsoever.

Collins replicates his first-half header to give West Ham the lead at Upton Park

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

With time slowly running out, it seemed it wasn't United's day... until the 90th minute, when a first-touch cross from Ryan Giggs was sent towards the in-form Robin van Persie, who emphatically rocketed the ball home to make sure the Reds keep their challenge for the FA Cup title alive.