Chelsea to face Manchester City in FA Cup Final
Strike from Enzo Fernandez ensures the Blues defeat Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley
Interim head coach Calum McFarlane believes Chelsea’s 1-0 FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds could be a turning point in their season.
Enzo Fernandez headed the winner in the first half as the Blues booked their place in May’s showpiece against Manchester City, keeping alive the possibility of ending a chaotic campaign on a high.
The Wembley performance was a world apart from their capitulation in Tuesday’s defeat to Brighton that brought an abrupt end to Liam Rosenior’s three-month spell in charge.
The players showed a level of commitment conspicuously absent at the Amex Stadium and indeed for most of the last six weeks under their doomed former boss.
First-team coach McFarlane has been tasked with overseeing matters until the end of the season and finding the antidote to woeful league form that has seen them lose five in a row without scoring.
“It’s tough in this moment when you’ve been on a losing run, but one moment, one result, one performance can change that,” the 40-year-old said.
“That’s what we’ve been going after, in terms of shifting the momentum in the group.
“I did reinforce that at the end, but it goes without saying that Chelsea need to try and win every game. That’s our target from now until the end of the season.”
Chelsea had the better of the semi-final but Leeds will be disappointed to have been unable to replicate the kind of display that has seen them effectively secure Premier League survival.
Brenden Aaronson drew a first-class save from Robert Sanchez in the first half before Joao Pedro fired against the inside of the post for Chelsea.
Pascal Struijk was guilty of giving away possession for the goal. Pedro Neto crossed from the right, Ethan Ampadu failed to reach it and Fernandez leapt to head in.
Another wonderful Sanchez save kept out Anton Stach’s piledriver at the start of the second half, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin put a free header straight into the goalkeeper’s gloves with Leeds’ final chance.
McFarlane was full of praise for Fernandez’s match-winning display.
“He’s done it all year,” he said. “It’s one of his biggest attributes, when you attack down the right, the timing of his runs, his ability to get good distance and height on his jumps, and his heading technique is really good.
“He’s a winner, he’s got so much talent, he’s got so much fight. He’s massive for this group.
“The best thing about Enzo is he can do a bit of everything, but when it gets tough you see the fight in him, you see him driving the group on.
“You see him making tackles, you see him fighting for every ball. He was exceptional today and he deserved his man of the match.”
Leeds boss Daniel Farke reflected on a disappointing outcome to his team’s first FA Cup semi-final since 1987.
“We come away disappointed,” he said. “We gave our fans so much to dream about. Of course, would have loved to let them dream longer.
“In terms of stats, we were the better side, but we were not at our free-flowing best. A few unnecessary losses. You could tell the players were nervous.
“We showed great character. Many positives to take and to learn this game. Hopefully, we don’t want 40 years for another chance for a semi-final. Today was not to be.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub