New owner incoming, Chelsea into FA Cup final with Liverpool

LONDON (AP) — Complete the sale of Chelsea inside four weeks and the new ownership will have an FA Cup final against Liverpool to attend.

Who will be representing the club in the royal box at Wembley Stadium on May 14 is still to be determined.

As the three remaining bidders wait to discover if they are chosen to buy out sanctioned Russian owner Roman Abramovich, the west London club beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in the semifinals of world soccer’s oldest competition on Sunday.

Goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount ensured the eight-time FA Cup winners will be back at Wembley on May 14 to face Liverpool which beat them at the national stadium on penalties in the League Cup final in February.

“Now it’s time to get our payback,” Mount said.

Before then it could take 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) to gain control of Chelsea once the enforced sale goes through.

The ownership contenders are, in part, being assessed on how much they will have to invest throughout the club, including player recruitment. The victory over Patrick Vieira’s Palace was produced by goals from graduates of the Chelsea academy that benefited from Abramovich’s lavish spending.

Such is the challenge to break into the first team, both had to gain playing experience on loan elsewhere, including Loftus-Cheek at London rival Palace.