By reaching FA Cup final, Chelsea can redeem a season derailed by uncertainty and ownership drama

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The most turbulent season in the history of the club could end with another trophy.

The FA Cup final will be played at Wembley on May 14th, after the Blues beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in the second semifinal. They might have a new owner by then.

Raine Group is expected to identify the preferred bidder in the next few days. The fastest previous completion was 10 days, but that's not to say that record can't be beaten.

It is possible that the first piece of silverware in the post-Roman Abramovich era could come at the earliest possible opportunity, the climax of a hugely uncertain two-and-a-half-month spell that began with the last visit to Wembley.

The fact that they have this opportunity is testament to the job manager Thomas Tuchel has done in navigating a season in which they have 54 games. Crystal Palace have played 37.

Expectations at Palace are lower than they have been in the past, and Tuchel has a squad with much greater depth as a result. The club has had to negotiate an unprecedented spell ever since the government in the UK imposed sanctions on the club. Travel plans were thrown into disarray, contract talks were frozen and the club shop was closed.

They went on to lose the game 11-10), despite the first statement fromAbramovich attempting to avoid a sale by passing stewardship and care of the club to the charity trustees. They hope that their ownership mess is behind them now that they will face the same team again.

The final was a big match that went until the very last penalty and we were unlucky to lose it.

We want to turn things around. It won't give us the title back, but we are here. The FA Cup is the most prestigious and traditional cup in the world and we are here again because we were here last season.

There aren't a lot of big games to be part of. We will be well-prepared because we play against one of the strongest teams in the world and we are grateful for that. We will try to make life difficult for them.

Since that first announcement, the identity of the club has been in question, and now with Tuchel trying to keep the Blues at a level to which they have become accustomed, the club is no longer irrevocably shaped in the image of one benevolent benefactor.

They were knocked out of the European Championship in the quarterfinals despite a heroic second-leg performance at Real Madrid, and the effects of such a night were visible early on.

The first half was a stalemate as Palace abandoned their usual shape to match the Blues with a three-man defence.

The game appeared to be drifting towards extra-time when Tyrick Mitchell lost the ball cheaply on the edge of Palace's box after 65 minutes and the Blues broke. Kai Havertz looked to cross but his pass took a weird bounce and flew past Palace goalkeeper Jack Butland.

After 59 games and 56 shots without scoring, Ruben Loftus-Cheek finally got his first goal of the season.

Palace was unable to move through the gears because of their game plan being undone. After 11 minutes, a fine pass from Timo Werner allowed Mount to score a second to seal a spot in the showpiece.

There was still time for a raft of substitutions and an embarrassing miss from Romelu Lukaku -- hitting the post from five yards out with the goal at his mercy -- but it did not affect Tuchel's remarkable semifinal record.

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It is the sixth final in 15 months for Tuchel, who succeeded Frank Lampard as head coach. This will be the third FA Cup final in a row for the Blues after they lost to the Gunners in 2020 and toLeicester City last year.

To have a big final at the end of the season is huge because it gives you joy to have something waiting and you have another final, which gives you a lot of confidence.

It is unbelievably difficult to beat them, given the quality and the recent run of form from them, so we have to be well prepared. We need to find a way to beat them.

They find a way. At the dawn of a new era, they have another chance to do so.