Demba Ba produced a moment of absolute class to give Chelsea a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the F.A. Cup quarterfinal replay at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues will now meet Manchester City in the semi-finals, leaving United with only the English Premier League title to contend with, albeit with both hands pretty much on the trophy.
Both teams made the expected changes, with United missing the injured Wayne Rooney, who was not risked due to a groin problem, while Robin Van Persie, after starting the game against Sunderland Saturday, warmed the bench.
That meant Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez, playing against his favorite team, were given the chance to provide United with the goals.
Chelsea brought back the usual suspects Juan Mata, Demba Ba and Eden Hazard, but stalwarts Frank Lampard and John Terry were only amongst the substitutes.
The first half was quite a turgid affair, with neither team showing the attacking verve necessary to unlock their opponent's defense.
Chelsea were relying on their playmaking triumvirate of Oscar, Mata and Hazard to find a way through, while United, compact in defense, relied on the pace of Welbeck and Nani on the counter-attack, with Antonio Valencia finding himself playing at right-back, as Phil Jones was asked to do the screening role in midfield.
Oscar nearly created the first chance for Chelsea, turning brilliantly to get by Patrice Evra, but his pass to the waiting Hazard was underhit, allowing Rio Ferdinand to clear.
Nani then broke through off a counter, but played a poor pass to Welbeck inside the box, with Hernandez soon after failing to take a strike after creating some space for himself.
Ba forced the first real save of the game, but his shot from an acute angle, off a layoff from Hazard, was comfortably saved by David De Gea with his feet.
Both sides looked like scoring only when given space off a quick counter, with Nani firing wide before Hazard saw his curler also go high.
There was some excitement in the last ten minutes of the first half, when Nani first forced an unconventional save from Cech, who had misjudged the flight of the ball, and caught out of position, had to use his feet to keep the United winger's 22-yard effort out - it was a save right from De Gea's playbook.
Nani then had a claim for a penalty, when the United man got into a tangle with Ryan Bertrand, a first half substitute for Ashley Cole, inside the box. It was six of one and half a dozen of the other really and would have been a soft penalty to give with referee Phil Down correctly waving play on.
The last few minutes at least promised a second half with better quality and more clear-cut chances, and it did not disappoint with Chelsea taking the lead three minutes in.
Juan Mata, Chelsea's architect extraordinaire, was allowed the freedom to pick a pass, and pick one he did, with a delightful ball over the top for Ba, who had made a nice run down the middle. The Senegalese, running at pace, watched the ball drop over his shoulder before producing a quite sublime finish at full stretch into the far corner, giving De Gea absolutely no chance of making a save.
A second before Van Persie was brought in, United had their best chance. Welbeck played a perfect cross in from the right, with Hernandez, left all alone, heading it across goal only for Petr Cech to make a stunning one-handed save.
Carrick then gave the ball away in his own half, allowing Hazard to get by Jones and Chris Smalling, but the Belgian uncharacteristically skewed his shot wide.
The more United went in search of the equalizer, the more Chelsea found space on the counter to find that killer second goal. Mata, in particular, was given acres of space, but a couple of potshots from the little Spaniard failed to trouble his compatriot in United's goal.
Van Persie had the perfect opportunity to force the tie into extra time, but his scoring boots continued to evade him as the Dutchman fired high from eight yards out.
Some brilliant play from Chelsea immediately at the other end, ended up with Mata stabbing a shot from ten yards, which was comfortably held by De Gea.
United threw the proverbial kitchen sink looking for the equalizer, with Van Persie again heading high, but Chelsea held their own, tossing it right back at their opponents as their defense of their F.A. Cup title continued.
