Chelsea recovers from fastest FA Cup final goal to beat Everton 2-1 and win trophy again

Chelsea beats Everton 2-1 in FA Cup final

WEMBLEY, England — Chelsea recovered after conceding the fastest goal in FA Cup final history, beating Everton 2-1 on Saturday to win the trophy a fifth time.

Louis Saha put Everton ahead after 25 seconds at Wembley, but Didier Drogba answered in the 21st minute and Frank Lampard delivered the winner with 18 minutes left when American goalkeeper Tim Howard’s view was blocked by players in front of him.

Chelsea won its first trophy in two years and gave manager Guus Hiddink the perfect farewell before he resumes his job as coach of the Russian national team.

“We were very tough and the team has showed after a setback they react always, which is what I like,” Hiddink said. “It was one of the biggest, a big achievement: winning in the Mecca of world football. The FA Cup is something you cannot believe.”

The record goal came after a header by Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel wasn’t cleared and Marouane Fellaini headed to Saha just inside the penalty area. The France striker turned and smashed a shot past goalkeeper Petr Cech.

He beat the previous quickest goal in a Wembley final by 18 seconds and was five seconds quicker than the winner Bob Chatt scored for Aston Villa in the 1895 FA Cup final, which was played at Crystal Palace in south London.

The goal gave Everton hope of a first trophy since the 1995 FA Cup. But Florent Malouda collected Lampard’s looping pass out of a crowd and sent in a curling cross that Drogba headed into the back of the net.

It was Drogba’s second FA Cup final — he scored the extra-time winner in Chelsea’s 2007 victory over Manchester United.

BERLIN (AP) — Mesut Oezil scored in the second half to give Werder Bremen its sixth German Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Oezil’s shot from a sharp angle took a slight deflection off Manuel Friedrich and beat goalkeeper Rene Adler in the 58th minute.

Bremen won the second of its two finals of the season, after losing the UEFA Cup title match 10 days ago to Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1, to salvage a season that went badly in the Bundesliga, where it finished only 10th.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Rangers completed a league and cup double with a 1-0 victory over Falkirk in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.

A spectacular goal from Nacho Novo gave the Scottish Premier League champions the victory, despite a spirited display by Falkirk, which had the better of the first half and hit the post in the closing stages.