Romelu Lukaku’s second-half brace helped Everton reach the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Chelsea.

The Belgium international recorded his first ever goal against his former club late into the encounter at Goodison Park before doubling the tally just four minutes later.

Further drama ensued as Diego Costa was sent off for the visitors following a clash with Gareth Barry before the midfielder himself was given his marching orders shortly after for a second bookable offence.

Here were the main talking points as the Blues booked their place for Wembley…

Make-or-break becomes a Wembley march

 

Everton’s love affair with the FA Cup has found a new chapter.

A tournament which has belonged to the greats of Goodison Park yesteryear, from Dixie Dean to Joe Royle, the omens had been strong for the Blues to secure a Wembley return.

The last time they had maintained clean sheets up to the quarter-final stage, they had gone on to win the FA Cup, in 1966, 1984 and 1995 respectively.

Roberto Martinez had form too, having seen off Bournemouth and the reigning Premier League champions, as well as a successful quarter-final at Goodison in Wigan Athletic’s triumphant run to lifting the trophy in 2013.

Now Evertonians will descend on Olympic Way during the weekend of April 23 and 24 as they attempt to go one better than their previous visit to the national stadium, back in 2012.

A make-or-break encounter for the Blues’ season, played out before new majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, has turned into a march for Roberto’s army.

Martinez is finally learning his lessons

 

Far too often, Martinez has been guilty of failing to learn from his past mistakes

Often unable to consolidate a winning position and similarly misguided in the selection and timing of his substitutions, the Catalan stood before Goodison’s judge and jury in the biggest challenge of his Everton tenure to date.

But having presided over two of the club’s FA Cup quarter-final exits, Martinez deserves credit for finally addressing the error of his ways.

Everton were defensively sound for large parts of this last eight encounter and held their nerve when the pressure mounted after they raced ahead late in the second half.

Even after Romelu Lukaku had broken the deadlock, he resisted the temptation to introduce Gerard Deulofeu, who had been stripped and ready for action for several minutes prior.

Instead, he held off and waited until the final stages of the game and chose to deploy John Stones and Muhamed Besic to shore up his back line in the final moments of the game.

Plenty of supporters would have welcomed such pragmatism far sooner in his reign, not least during last weekend’s capitulation at home to West Ham United but it is better late than never for the Toffees boss.

End of Lukaku’s Chelsea duck worth the wait

 

Romelu Lukaku’s wait for a goal against Chelsea has been a long time coming.

At the fifth time of asking, the towering Belgian delivered an emphatic response to his former employers some two years after he left Stamford Bridge.

Twisting and turning past Cesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill before slotting beyond Thibaut Courtois and into the net, he channelled the spirit of Ricky Villa with a goal which should go down in the annals of FA Cup history as one of its most iconic.

It was arguably one of the finest scored in the Gwladys Street end’s history, as legendary Blues midfielder Kevin Sheedy was more than happy to attest. A follow-up, just four minutes later, was marginally less impressive but equally clinical as Lukaku rifled the ball through the legs of Courtois.

In a season where Everton as a collective have largely under-performed, Lukaku continues to excel with 61 goals from 117 outings. Chelsea were finally given a fresh glimpse of what they have been missing.

Plenty of bite in old school cup clash

 

An old-fashioned cup tie in the surroundings of Goodison’s long-standing vintage would ordinarily be seen as a good thing – even if the bygone era was the 1980s.

Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang may have faded into obscurity but their one-time London adversaries have ensured that their legacy of Route One directness and physicality remains live and well.

Diego Costa, who Chelsea sacrificed Lukaku to accommodate, appeared to be intent on reprising the Vinnie Jones role.

Forget the striker’s goal that never was, as a trickling close-range shot rolled along the line of an empty Park End net early in the second half, Costa was a persistent and incendary bugbear to the Everton midfield.

Aaron Lennon, James McCarthy and Gareth Barry were wise to the Spain international’s antics from the offset – and the latter on the receiving end of an alleged bite as Costa was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Barry himself was on the receiving end of Michael Oliver’s marching orders for a similar offence, sans teeth-sinking, just minutes later.