Neither Chelsea nor Manchester United were able to break the deadlock during the opening 45 minutes of their FA Cup quarter-final replay at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.
In a half of very few clear goalscoring chances, it took until the 31st minute for either goalkeeper to be called into action. It was United's David de Gea who had to be alert to save with his feet from Demba Ba.
Six minutes later it was the away team's turn to have an effort, but Nani's strike from 25 yards out skidded a yard wide of Petr Cech's post.
As the half drew to a close, an interchange inside the area between Chelsea's Oscar and Eden Hazard opened up an opportunity for the latter, but he curled his shot over the crossbar.
The final chance went United's way as Javier Hernandez's low shot from outside the area caused problems for Cech, who managed to turn the ball away from danger with his right boot.
Liam Apicella
