Man City 1-0 Chelsea: Player ratings as Silva strikes late to punish wasteful Blues

Manchester City booked their place in the FA Cup final with a scrappy 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Saturday.

Chelsea created plenty of opportunities, with Nicolas Jackson proving to be particularly wasteful in front of goal, and as was the case in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, the Blues were punished for their lack of cutting edge.

Bernardo Silva popped up with just a few minutes remaining to seal a much-needed victory for City, whose quest to win the double remain alive.

How the game unfolded

City had the better of the opening exchanges, with their high press causing Chelsea a number of defensive scares early on, but Nicolas Jackson offered up the first shot on goal seven minutes in with a tame effort into the gloves of Stefan Ortega.

Kevin De Bruyne's delightful pass put Phil Foden through on goal and the Englishman dinked his way around Djordje Petrovic, but Foden found himself too wide and could only send an aimless cross back into the six-yard box which was nodded away by Marc Cucurella.

Cucurella also scrambled away a cut-back from Bernardo Silva, but the offside flag quickly put an end to the tension.

It looked like Chelsea were going to take the lead when Jackson found his way past Ortega, but with defenders rushing back to the line, the Senegal international sent a misguided pass back into the box which was comfortably cleared.

John Stones had to block from Noni Madueke and Ortega saved from Cole Palmer as Chelsea tried to ramp up the pressure, but neither side could break the deadlock before the interval.

Madueke skied over the bar shortly after the restart before Ortega made two excellent saves to deny Jackson, and just a few minutes later, Petrovic had to get down quickly to deny Foden as both sides made a fast start to the second half.

Moises Caicedo fluffed yet another charge through on goal in what was becoming an increasingly frustrating showing from Chelsea in front in the final third.

The Blues were made to pay for their profligacy in the 84th minute as the ball found its way to Silva at the back post, and the Portugal international fired home to keep City in the race for two trophies this season.

Man City player ratings (4-1-4-1)

GK: Stefan Ortega - 8/10 - Fairly busy throughout but did pretty much everything he needed to do. A smart save from Palmer in the first half and a great double-stop on Jackson after the restart.

RB: Kyle Walker - 5/10 - Guilty of giving Jackson far too much space in behind him. Bailed out by his pace once or twice.

CB: John Stones - 6/10 - Made a huge block to deny Madueke. Did his job well before being withdrawn at the break.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 5/10 - Surprisingly deployed in the hybrid midfield role but made things look a little uncomfortable at times.

LB: Nathan Ake - 7/10 - Busy up against Madueke but usually came out on top. Comfortable with the ball at his feet as well.

DM: Rodri - 5/10 - Looked tired after playing 120 minutes in midweek. Lost Palmer on more than one occasion.

RM: Phil Foden - 6/10 - Buzzed around with nice energy but didn't offer a whole lot in front of goal. Couldn't have done any better when he rounded Petrovic in the first half.

CM: Bernardo Silva - 7/10 - Pretty quiet before popping up with the all-important moment.

CM: Kevin De Bruyne - 6/10 - Like Silva, De Bruyne was not himself before sending in the cross which turned out to be the winner.

LM: Jack Grealish - 7/10 - City's most dangerous forward. Looked dangerous whenever he got on the ball and was involved in most of City's best moments.

ST: Julian Alvarez - 5/10 - Not particularly involved in proceedings. Chelsea's tough defence eliminated the space for him.

Substitutes

SUB: Ruben Dias (46' for Stones) - 6/10

SUB: Jeremy Doku (65' for Grealish) - 6/10

SUB: Oscar Bobb (88' for Alvarez) - N/A

Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Josko Gvardiol, Rico Lewis, Sergio Gomez, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic

Manager

Pep Guardiola - 5/10 - This was far from a vintage performance from City, who looked very open at the back far too often.

Chelsea player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Djordje Petrovic - 6/10 - Busier in the second half but rose to most challenges set to him. A particularly smart save to deny Foden.

RB: Malo Gusto - 7/10 - A good battle with Grealish. Very involved in Chelsea's attacks but perhaps lacked accuracy with his crosses.

CB: Trevoh Chalobah - 7/10 - Busy but comfortable. Looked happy with the ball at his feet and even popped up on the right wing.

CB: Thiago Silva - 7/10 - Marshalled the defence well, even flashing some nice agility when locked in a footrace.

LB: Marc Cucurella - 7/10 - Made some really important clearances early on when Chelsea were trying to establish themselves in the game.

DM: Enzo Fernandez - 5/10 - Played plenty of forward passes to try and force Chelsea in behind City's defence but not all of them were on target.

DM: Moises Caicedo - 6/10 - Tried to bring his energy in midfield but picked up a sloppy booking as he tried to chase the tempo of the game.

RM: Noni Madueke - 6/10 - A couple of nice sights of goal but most of Chelsea's attacks came down the opposite wing.

AM: Cole Palmer - 7/10 - Tried to involve himself in everything and played plenty of smart balls in behind City's defence. Span Rodri with some excellent footwork.

LM: Conor Gallagher - 7/10 - It's clearly a weird role for Gallagher but his typically impressive pressing was key to Chelsea's efforts.

ST: Nicolas Jackson - 4/10 - Can't fault the work rate as Jackson got in behind time and time again, but his inability to put the ball in the back of the net left fans in disbelief at times.

Substitutes

SUB: Mykhailo Mudryk (79' for Madueke) - 5/10

SUB: Axel Disasi (79' for Gusto) - 5/10

SUB: Ben Chilwell (88' for Cucurella) - N/A

SUB: Raheem Sterling (88' for Fernandez) - N/A

Subs not used: Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Alfie Gilchrist, Benoit Badiashile, Carney Chukwuemeka, Deivid Washington

Manager

Mauricio Pochettino - 7/10 - He'll be fuming. Chelsea created so many good opportunities here but once again found themselves on the losing side at Wembley.

Player of the match - Stefan Ortega (Man City)