LONDON: Stoke City reached the FA Cup final for the first time when three goals in the first 30 minutes paved the way to a stunning 5-0 win over Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium Sunday. Stoke, who first entered the FA Cup in 1883 and had never got beyond the semifinals, will now face Manchester City in the final at Wembley on May 14. They also have the chance of securing a place in next season's Europa League depending on where City finish in the Premier League. Goals from Matthew Etherington after 11 minutes, Robert Huth six minutes later and Kenwyne Jones after 30 minutes had Stoke manager Tony Pulis leaping for joy on the touchline as the match virtually ended as a contest, with Bolton's hopes of a first final appearance since 1958 totally dashed. Jon Walters made it 4-0 in the 68th minute and he then made it five in the 81st to complete the win and end Bolton's hopes of a first final appearance since 1958. “Everyone wrote us off before the game ... people were saying Bolton would get to the final. We proved them all wrong – 5-0,” Walters told ESPN television. Stoke now have the chance of becoming the first “new” winners of the Cup since Wimbledon in 1988. Liverpool holds Arsenal Second-placed Arsenal missed the chance to cut Manchester United's lead at the top of the Premier League after two last-gasp penalties meant Liverpool grabbed a 1-1 draw Sunday. Robin van Persie slotted home for Arsene Wenger's side in the eighth minute of added time after Jay Spearing brought down Cesc Fabregas. Liverpool was then handed a dramatic late penalty after Emmanuel Eboue fouled Lucas Leiva and Dirk Kuyt converted. Arsenal now trails United by six points with six games remaining. Cesena beats Bari Cesena moved out of the Serie A relegation zone with a 1-0 win at home against Bari Sunday. Erjon Bogdani got the only goal to move Cesena to 17th place, two points ahead of Sampdoria. Brescia slipped further behind in its efforts to escape the drop with a 3-0 defeat at Genoa. Brescia is two points behind Sampdoria, with Bari nine points adrift at the bottom of the table. Lazio remains fourth – three points behind Inter Milan – after a 4-1 win at Catania, and Juventus drew 0-0 at Fiorentina. Dortmund eyes title Borussia Dortmund took a giant step toward winning the Bundesliga title on Sunday, beating Freiburg 3-0 at home after second-place Bayer Leverkusen lost 5-1 at Bayern Munich. Dortmund is eight points ahead of Leverkusen, with four rounds left to play. Earlier, Mario Gomez's first-half hat trick helped Bayern Munich to its win over Leverkusen. Bayern reclaimed third place in its first game since firing Louis van Gaal as coach.
