A bad one for De Gea.

A good day for Lampard.

And here’s Frank Lampard

“I can’t ask for any more than that – maybe a couple more goals – and that’s surprising when you play against a team of their quality. More than that, it was the work ethic of the performance. It was the first time we’ve played three at the back for a while. The early parts of the game we were on top, and when they changed the system I thought we were even better. The wing-backs, Jorginho, Kovacic, Giroud... I could list the entire team. I’m very proud of the performance.”

And here’s Mason Mount

“You always want to turn up in big games and I thought we did that today. It’s always kinda difficult when you play against a team who have beaten you three times already this season, but we came into the game with that extra motivation. Maybe I had a little bot of fortune with my goal but I was obviously very happy because it gave us a bit of room to express ourselves.”

Here’s Olivier Giroud

“I said to my boys in the dressing-room that I would love to win another FA Cup; it would be my fifth one. It’ll be special for me to play against Arsenal. We are very happy with the team performance today - it’s a while since we’ve played three at the back. We won the game by putting them under pressure with good pressing, and after we scored the second goal we dictated the game. I’m very happy at Chelsea - I’m a Blue and I just want to win more trophies.”

90+5 min Hudson-Odoi misses a good chance to make it 4-1, rifling over the bar from 12 yards. after an excellent run.

90+2 min Those two goals either side of half-time, the first in the 56th minute and the second in the 46th, killed this game.

90+1 min Pedro replaces Mason Mount.

90 min Six minutes of added time.

89 min The irrepressible Fernandes flicks a fine pass over the defence that almost finds Ighalo. Caballero charges from his line to get there first.

89 min Chelsea are passing the clock down.

86 min A Chelsea change - the splendid Kovacic is replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

86 min That was United’s 19th penalty of the season.

PENALTY TO UNITED! Hudson-Odoi fouls Martial, and Mike Dean does the necessary. It was a clear penalty.

84 min Chelsea v Arsenal will be a cracking FA Cup final. Chelsea thrashed Arsenal in the Europa League final a year ago, but Arsenal have won both FA Cup finals between the sides: Ray Parlour’s match in 2002 and the 2-1 win three years ago.

83 min “I’m quietly fascinated by the animated advertising boards on the steps between blocks of seating,” says Matt Dony. “I’m assuming they can’t be used when the stadium is in normal use and full of fans. Have they been created especially for this scenario? Did someone decide that huge banners covering the seats wasn’t enough, and so they needed to squeeze in a few more square feet of marketing space? Bill Hicks was right about people in advertising, wasn’t he?”

80 min And now a double change for Chelsea: Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi replace Willian and Giroud. Both were superb with and without the ball.

79 min Matic misses a good chance, heading Fernandes’s deep corner into the ground and up over the bar.

79 min More substitutions for United: Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Odion Ighalo replace Rashford and Wan-Bissaka.

76 min Kovacic has quietly had a terrific game in midfield for Chelsea, who have really done a number on United. Frank Lampard’s decision to switch to a back three had worked perfectly.

A Harry Maguire own goal has sealed a thumping victory for Chelsea. When a corner was half cleared, Alonso flashed a low cross that was turned into his own net by Maguire at the near post. I thought Rudiger had scored but replays showed it was Maguire’s touch.

72 min Bruno Fernandes is the only United player whose head hasn’t dropped. This has been a chastening afternoon for them.

71 min Pogba overruns the ball, fouls Kovacic and is booked. United aren’t at the races; Chelsea have been much the better side.

70 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “A Manchester derby FA Cup final would have been nice for this neutral. Is it true that United and City have never met in a cup final? Even Dundee United and Dundee have done that. At least a Chelsea/Arsenal match up will cut down on travelling for both sets of fans.”

That’s right, unless you count the Premier League final in April 2012.

67 min Time for the drinks break.

65 min: Chance for United! Fernandes’ big, inswinging corner is headed just wide by Maguire. Caballero came for the ball and was nowhere near it, but the under-pressure Maguire couldn’t steer his header into the empty net.

64 min Both players are okay to continue.

63 min There’s another clash of heads, this time between Rudiger and Greenwood.

62 min Chelsea are cruising. United are having more of the ball but there’s no conviction in their passing, and Chelsea look the likelier scorers on the break.

61 min “All the discussion about depth and formation and such, while probably meaningful on the margins, overlooks the simple answer for the difference between the two teams today - Chelsea were given two extra days to rest and prepare for this match than United,” says Jonathan Francis.

60 min “While I agree De Gea hasn’t been nowhere near as good for the last season as he was for a very long time, as a United fan it’s impossible to forget he was the one consistent beacon of light at Old Trafford in the age of Moyes, van Gaal and Mourinho,” says Sanchit Sabhlok. “If nothing else, Ole should maybe give him another season. He’s a 29-year-old goalkeeper for christ sake!”

58 min de Gea makes a good save, leaping to his left to slap Giroud’s deflected shot away from goal. Chelsea look very dangerous on the counter-attack.

57 min Mount misses a decent chance, whipping a shot over the bar from 18 yards after excellent play by Willian and Giroud.

56 min Fernandes plays the free-kick short to Wan-Bissaka. He crosses beyond the far post to Maguire, whose header is comfortably held by Caballero.

55 min James is shoved over by Rudiger just outside the area on the right. Before the free-kick is taken, Pogba and Greenwood replace Fred and Daniel James.

54 min Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood are about to come on.

54 min United are having their best spell of the game, though that’s mainly because Chelsea are now protecting a lead.

53 min Fernandes sprays a brilliant long pass over the defence to Rashford, who shoots just wide of the far post from a tight angle. I’m not sure it would have counted anyway - I think the ball touched his arm as he controlled it.

51 min Mount’s low cross is miscontrolled at the near post by Giroud. Chelsea could run away with this.

50 min “It’s been great watching United progress from constipated plodders to scything musketeers via the successful integration, or reboot, of Fernandes, Maguire, Wan Bissaka, Greenwood, Martial, Shaw and Pogba of late,” says Patrick Treacy. “But realistically I feel they are a distance behind Chelsea, who may not have as good a first XI, but have stronger and more suitable options on their bench, have bought well and early for next year and have room for improvement via a tactical upgrade. I think three players is the minimum United will need to reassert themselves as a force - more like two summer transfer windows imho.”

I don’t think either team have a chance of challenging Liverpool for the title next season. I agree about Chelsea’s depth, though United have the better starting XI for mine.

49 min I’d imagine we’ll see Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba very soon.

48 min “Like I said earlier...the formation was wrong, far too negative,” says Neil Carter. “Ironic really that Chelsea score after our best moments of the first half with Tony in the pitch. Greenwood to score the winner!”

47 min I bet Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wishes he had stuck with his usual FA Cup keeper, Sergio Romero.

That’s a dreadful mistake. Williams played a really loose square pass that was picked up by Mount, 35 yards from goal. He ran to the edge of the D and drove a routine low shot that somehow went through the fingers of the diving de Gea.

46 min Chelsea begin the second half. No news on Eric Bailly, who presumably has been taken to hospital.

“Much has been said (by far cleverer people than me) about De Gea, but he’s a real conundrum,” says Matt Dony. “It wasn’t a case of him having a bit of a purple patch a few years ago. He was genuinely, inarguably one of the very best goalkeepers in the world. He seemed to pull off amazing saves regularly. During a period where United had the worst bunch of defenders they’d had for years, he made them respectable. It wasn’t even that long ago, was it? These days, he’s a liability. Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration, he still makes some good saves, but the ball goes through him far, far too often. On balance, he’s now an adequate keeper. No more, no less. I don’t understand the change. I can’t think of many other sportspeople who have gone from being consistently so incredible for a few years to consistently so average for a few years. Does Ole stick or twist before next season? Surely he has to twist...”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a keeper with better reactions than de Gea, so I’d be loath to sell him unless I was nigh-on certain he was past his best. He’s 29, which is young for a keeper, but he also started as a teenager. My hunch is he’ll never get back to his 2012-18 level. But how can you be sure?

“A quick look at Project Restart shows Man Utd having a game on average every 3.3 days,” says Ben O’Connell. “That’s not counting the possible final of the FA Cup or any Europa League games. That’s an incredible amount of game time in a short period of time after a gap longer than most off seasons with no preseason. Add to that a shallow squad and you’re likely to get decreasing standard of play.”

“De Gea is not elite with the ball at his feet and never sweeps up,” says Digvijay Yadav. “His redeeming quality - pulling off ridiculous saves - has waned considerably. And now he’s on a massive wage. Oh well.”

It’s hard to fathom, isn’t it? For four or five years he was astoundingly good. Maybe he never got over that slightly miserable 2018 World Cup.

I can’t decide whether de Gea was at fault for the goal or not. Giroud was only six yards out so his reaction time was almost nonexistent, but having got a hand to the ball he probably should have saved it. I think he pushed it onto his leg and back over the line, in which case he was a little unlucky.

Half-time reading

Azpilicueta played a give and go with Willian down the right and curled a fast cross to the near post. Giroud got away from the sleepy Lindelof and flicked a neat shot with the outside of the left foot that went through de Gea and into the net.

45+11 min Bruno Fernandes suddenly reverses a brilliant pass through the Chelsea defence, but the alert Caballero gets to the ball just before James.

45+9 min We’re in the 54th minute of the first half. What day is this?

45+8 min United appeal for a penalty when Martial goes down after a clumsy challenge from Zouma. VAR decides Mike Dean didn’t make a clear and obvious error. It was definitely a foul - Martial got to the bouncing ball first and Zouma booted his leg - but I reckon it was just outside the area, so maybe that’s why VAR didn’t intervene.

45+8 min Five minutes of added time were scheduled but I’d imagine it will 11 or 12.

45+7 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Tim. “City unarguably have strength in depth up front and in midfield, but it’s fair to say they didn’t cope marvellously well with Laporte’s injury this season.”

Yeah but wait until this summer, when they buy Koulibaly, Upamecano, Skriniar, Maldini, Beckenbauer and Baresi.

45+6 min Bailly is being wheeled down the tunnel and play will resume.

45+5 min Bailly is being moved very slowly onto a stretcher. The BBC commentator Steve Wilson said that Bailly had a delayed reaction to the clash of heads with Maguire, which is worrying.

45+3 min Bailly is now lying on his back near the touchline. He is in a neck brace and a stretcher is being prepared. Play has been stopped because Bailly is being treated right by the touchline.

45+1 min Bailly is on his feet, but he’s clearly concussed and is going to come off. Martial replaces him, so I imagine United will switch to the usual 4-2-3-1: de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Williams; Fred, Matic; James, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial.

45 min While Maguire has his head bandaged, Anthony Martial is getting ready to come on for Eric Bailly.

44 min Maguire is sitting up while his eye is stitched. He looks okay but Bailly is probably concussed; he’s clashed heads twice in the space of three minutes.

42 min Now Bailly has clashed heads with Maguire, who has a bit of blood coming from his right eye. Both players look very groggy. If United do have to make a change, they might take the opportunity to switch to a back four.

41 min Zouma and Bailly are okay to continue.

40 min “United resting Pogba, Martial and Greenwood has exposed the lack of quality in the squad,” says Stephen Carr. “Same with Liverpool if any of the front three are missing (and god forbid van Dijk gets injured). Only City have genuine strength in depth - a squad which we now know was assembled using only entirely legitimate means.”

You say that about Liverpool, but one of the most astonishing things about that 4-0 win over Barcelona is that they were without Salah and Firmino for the whole game and Robertson for the second half. I agree that it’s not sustainable over a longer period though.

39 min Mount’s deflected cross from the left is headed over by the diving Zouma at the near post. It was a half chance at most. Zouma and Bailly clashed heads as they dived for the ball, and both are still down.

38 min “I blame the pace of this game on two things,” says Matthew Richman. “One, the way United set up with five across the back; two, the congestion of this schedule. Fernandes especially has been a presence in both boxes I think every game since the restart. The man needs a rest.”

Yeah, that’s going to be a big problem at the start of next season (!) as well, especially for teams who go deep in the Champions League/Europa League.

37 min Rashford’s free-kick hits the wall.

36 min Kovacic fouls Fernandes 35 yards from goal, to the right of centre...

33 min Mount’s long-range shot is comfortably held by de Gea. It was a shot on target, though, and I think that’s enough to move this game from ‘stinker’ to ‘mediocre’ on the anygoodometer.

32 min Fernandes hammers the corner hard and low towards Matic, arriving late in the box, but the ball is just too far in front of him. Chelsea broke broke three on three, only for Willian to overhit his cross.

32 min Fernandes’s free-kick is tipped over by Caballero. It was fairly central and thus a comfortable save.

31 min Fred is fouled 25 yards from goal by Kovacic, just to the left of centre. That was a silly tackle, and this is a chance for United. It’s probably more suited to Fernandes than Rashford, who scored from further out against Chelsea in the League Cup.

30 min United are enjoying their first sustained spell of possession since the first few minutes.

29 min United have been very poor in possession. They have some good attacking options on the bench: Greenwood, Pogba, Martial. At this rate they’ll need them.

27 min Maguire fouls Giroud on the left wing. Mount overhits the free-kick. This could be a long night.

25 min Fernandes is fine to continue.

24 min Bruno Fernandes is down after being studded in the phallus by Azpilicueta, who was trying to reach a bouncing ball to stop a United counter-attack. It’s a good time for the drinks break.

23 min Willian’s corner is overhit. As a piece of entertainment, this game stinks.

22 min Mount’s shot hits Maguire and goes behind for the first corner of the match.

20 min Pass pass pass pass. It’s all Chelsea.

18 min Chelsea continue to dominate possession, although they haven’t got behind the United defence yet.

15 min: Chance for Alonso! Azpilicueta, in a narrow position to the right of centre, floated a lovely cross to the far post. It went over the head of Wan-Bissaka and reached Alonso, who thumped a header over the bar from six yards. He might have done better, though it was difficult for him to get over the top of the ball.

14 min United move the ball nicely from right to left before Williams is dispossessed by James. It’s like a bloody chess match out there!

12 min Chelsea are having more of the ball, though that isn’t always a good thing in these games. It’s still very cagey.

10 min A fierce, swirling long-range strike from James is punched away by de Gea.

8 min “Let me tell you what I think would be a good week for United,” says Digvijay Yadav. “Win today, pump West Ham to make the Leicester game redundant and qualify for CL proper by finishing third. Don’t think I am asking for much.”

7 min It’s all very cagey at the moment. Both teams have plenty of knowledge of and respect for each other.

3 min A slow start, nothing to report except that Brandon Williams has a black eye after that clash of heads against Southampton.

1 min Peep peep! United, in red, kick off from right to left. Blue is the colour for Chelsea.

The players emerge on a cloudy evening in north London. This really is a biggie.

It’s already been a good day for these two sides, because Spurs are hammering Leicester.

Pre-match reading

“Not happy with the defensive set up just announced by Solskjaer,” says Neil Carter. “Essentially seven defensive players on the pitch! It’s clear where his priorities lie for the run in.”

And quite right too, in my opinion. Also, the 3-4-1-2 worked very well in the league at Stamford Bridge (and also against Liverpool and Manchester City). I think it’s an understandable team selection, particularly in view of the schedule.