The best images from Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Villa at Wembley

Chelsea are still on course for a historic first Double. An often soporific FA Cup semi-final ended with Carlo Ancelotti’s team setting up a meeting with Tottenham or Portsmouth, who clash here tomorrow , in May’s showpiece. By then this team will hope to have bagged the Premier League, and be halfway to immortality in their west London manor.

Didier Drogba had been preferred ahead of Nicolas Anelka, after the Ivory Coast striker had been left on the bench for last week’s 2-1 victory at Manchester United. Drogba, surely nonplussed by that decision, had duly entered proceedings at Old Trafford and scored what would be Chelsea’s winner and would play a decisive role again here, but it was Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor who produced the tie’s opening spark.

This was a surge through midfield that worried John Terry before the ball fell to Ashley Young and a corner was forced. Delivered by Stewart Downing from the right, it amounted to nothing and, after the teams had taken a look at each other, Chelsea managed their first threat on nine minutes. Again, though, after a corner had been won – courtesy of Florent Malouda’s work down the left – Alex could only head the ball to safety and a Villa goal-kick.

Villa’s 7-1 drubbing at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago had begun with a Frank Lampard goal on 15 minutes so they will have been content to move beyond that stage of this game still level here. In fact Martin O’Neill’s team may have taken the lead from two chances before the quarter-hour had passed.

James Milner was first up with a low, skidding effort that narrowly passed Petr Cech’s right post. Then, Agbonlahor appeared to be kneed to the turf inside Chelsea’s area by Mikel John Obi.

Howard Webb stared for a moment then, to O’Neill’s fury, turned that one down. If the referee had seen Agbonlahor clutching Mikel’s jersey then he may have taken that into account, though a counter-argument says players hugging each other in this area of the pitch can be commonplace stuff.

Since that 7-1 defeat much has been made by O’Neill and his players of Terry’s remarks that Villa tend to fade at this time of year. From a distance, though, it seemed fair comment from the Chelsea captain and there was a sense this afternoon that Wembley’s wide yards would once again test Villa’s stamina.

But as the half-hour passed it had been Chelsea who, if not sluggish exactly, were certainly struggling to wrest the play from Villa, though this may have been merely the unfolding of precisely the pattern Terry had described, with Chelsea hoping to emerge stronger as the game grew older.

Yet when Downing took the ball down the left and flipped in a cross Cech’s misjudgment of its flight suggested that Chelsea had still not woken.

This was about to change. And Drogba, not for the first time, was Chelsea’s threat. With players beginning to slip on the notorious Wembley turf (this was the second try-out of a 10th relaying in three years) Richard Dunne went down in his area when hoping to stop Drogba from pulling the trigger from Malouda’s cross.

Instead it was Stephen Warnock who managed to get a fine block in and that was danger cleared. Moments later Drogba performed a flip-and-collect over a Villa player’s head that was playground stuff. And when Dunne had a niggle at the same player, it was Drogba’s toe-poke that was blasted at Villa’s wall from 25-yards.

After Warnock’s header had dropped for Joe Cole he finished this spell of Chelsea pressure with a pivot and volley that was gathered by Friedel.

His side may have finished the half stronger, but Ancelotti was not content with how his players had, for large parts, been dominated by Villa. This caused the Italian to employ the managerial shorthand for announcing normal service had better be resumed sharply by sending the team out early for the restart. A demand reiterated by his informing of three substitutes – Anelka, Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou – to spend the first 10 minutes of the second half warming up.

Yet they and their manager had to witness further spluttering fare from Chelsea, with the aimless ball from Cole that went straight for a goal-kick instead of onto Drogba’s head emblematic of their performance.

By now this was established as a standard-issue cagey semi-final that, unless a “Football, bloody hell” finish ensued, felt like it would be settled by the odd goal, if extra-time was to be avoided.

It still, at this juncture, appeared Villa who might grab it. After 62 minutes Agbonlahor’s driving run into Chelsea’s area was followed by a shot that made Cech save. But that meant another corner, and another non-event.

Ancelotti, wanting to force events, had seen enough. Off went Cole and on came Kalou but it was Drogba, yet again, who made the difference.

The scorer of the winner in the final of this competition three years ago, and in last year’s semi-final win over Arsenal here, made the opportunity from which he would score again at Wembley. Drogba flashed down the left, caused James Collins to dive in, before his shot at Friedel went for a corner. Now it was the turn of Collins’ defensive partner, Dunne, to commit the howler.

Malouda’s delivery from the left landed plum on the Irishman’s head, but his weak clearance found a lurking Terry. The former England captain’s response was a pass-shot hybrid that found an unmarked Drogba. From six yards out he was not going to miss. And he did not.

While Terry later appeared lucky not to be sent off for clobbering Milner’s knee, Mr Chelsea’s analysis of Villa’s tendency to fade had been proved correct, with late strikes from Malouda and Frank Lampard the confirmation.

FA CupAston VillaChelseaJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk