Chelsea Football Club beat Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in thrilling FA Cup semifinal

Chelsea Football Club beat Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 4-2 thanks to late goals from Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matric in their FA Cup semifinal match on Saturday.

Late goals from Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matric sealed a 4-2 victory for Chelsea over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a rip-roaring FA Cup semifinal at Wembley on Saturday.

Chelsea Football Club's Nemanja Matic celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English FA Cup semifinal match against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. at Wembley stadium in London on Saturday. (AP)

It was only the fourth time in the competition that a semi-final had featured the current top two in the top flight and it did not disappoint as the title rivals produced a sizzling contest.

Brazilian Willian, surprisingly selected ahead of Hazard in the starting line-up, twice put Chelsea ahead, first after four minutes with a free kick and then close to halftime from the penalty spot.

Tottenham, who are four points behind Chelsea in the league after a brilliant run of form, dominated at times but their hopes of a first FA Cup final since 1991 were sunk late on.

First Hazard, who replaced Willian with half an hour remaining, buried a low shot past Hugo Lloris after 75 minutes, then Matic’s 30-metre piledriver sank Spurs who have won only one of their last nine matches at Wembley and have now lost in seven successive FA Cup semi-finals.