Romelu
Lukaku scored two goals for Everton, one demonstrating rare strength
and skill, to knock his old side Chelsea out of the FA Cup 2-0 in a
dramatic quarter-final featuring two red cards on Saturday (Sunday
AEDT).
All
the frantic action happened in the final 13 minutes with Chelsea
striker Diego Costa and Everton midfielder Gareth Barry sent off but
their dismissals only came after Lukaku's brilliance had put the tie
beyond doubt.
The
powerful Belgium striker, who never fitted in at Stamford Bridge and
was sold to the Merseysiders for 28 million pounds ($A54.08 million)
two years ago, proved irresistible with his late five-minute double,
especially with a first goal destined to go down in Goodison Park
folklore.
As
the game meandered towards a replay, Lukaku conjured a 77th-minute
goal from nowhere, muscling past two defenders on the left, powering
into the box and, after some nifty footwork to bamboozle Gary Cahill,
firing in a left-foot effort.
Everton
manager Roberto Martinez hailed it "one of the great goals we
will see in the FA Cup".
Five
minutes later, freed by Ross Barkley's neat pass, the 22-year-old
Lukaku shot through keeper Thibaut Courtois' legs to provide the
perfect response to any notion that he was not good enough for
Chelsea.
"I
don't think I have anything to prove to Chelsea. I went there as an
18-year-old and learned the trade of being a professional. I will
always be grateful to them," Lukaku told the BBC after taking
his goal tally for the season to 25 in all competitions.
"I
think the first goal is the best thing. I didn't know where I was
going but then I was in the box, I saw Gary Cahill not know where he
was going so I shifted it on to my left foot."
What
irony, though, that a Chelsea reject's goals should end a thoroughly
wretched week and, effectively, put the lid on a terrible season for
the Premier League champions following their Champions League exit to
Paris St Germain on Wednesday.
Moments
after Lukaku demonstrated his excellence, Chelsea target man Costa
could only offer up another striking example of his pointless 'angry
young man' impressions.
This
time, after an earlier first-half booking for a collision with Barry,
he squared up to the midfielder, shoving his face into the Everton
player after being fouled.
For
a moment it even looked as if he was burrowing into Barry's shoulder
with his teeth but the former England international's calm reaction
betrayed no sign he had been bitten.
Either
way, referee Michael Oliver felt his petulant response meant he had
to go for a second yellow card offence, surprisingly the first time
he has been sent off for Chelsea.
Soon
after, sparring partner Barry was also dismissed for a second booking
for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.
The
defeat meant caretaker manager Guus Hiddink, who won the FA Cup seven
years ago in his previous stand-in spell at Stamford Bridge, had
failed in his bid to repeat the achievement following the dismissal
of Jose Mourinho in December.
In
a game high on spikiness and huff and puff but not an abundance of
great skill until Lukaku took over, the best chance fell to Costa who
rounded keeper Joel Robles only to see his shot skip across the face
of goal millimetres from the line.
A
trip to Wembley for the semi-finals represented the perfect welcome
gift for Everton's new principal shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
"I
am the one bringing expectation and every single player at the club
has the right mental character," said Martinez. "We wanted
to get to Wembley and our chairman (long-standing owner Bill
Kenwright) deserves that for what he has achieved."
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